The book of the prophet Isaiah

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THE BOOK

Or

THE PROPHET ISAIAH,

TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL HEBREW ;

WITH A

COMMENTARY,

CRITICAL, PHILOLOGICAL, AND EXEGETICAL:

TO WHICH IS PREFIXED,

AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION

ON

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE PROPHET;
THE CHARACTER OF HIS STYLE; THE AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGRITY OF THE
BOOK; AND THE PRINCIPLES OF PROPHETICAL INTERPRETATION.

BY THE

REV. Ε΄ HENDERSON, D.D.

AUTHOR OF ‘‘LECTURES ON DIVINE INSPIRATION,” ‘‘ BIBLICAL RESEARCHES AND
TRAVELS IN RUSSIA,” “ICELAND,” ETC.

SECOND EDITION.

Nobis propositum est Esaiam per nos intelligi, et nequaquam sub Esaize
occasione nostra verba laudari.—H1iERon. ap Eustocu.

LONDON :
HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO.

33, PATERNOSTER ROW.
M DCCC LVII.

LONDON:
R, CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD STREUT AIL.

PREFACE.

Ir is not without considerable diffidence that I publish
to the world the result of my critical labours on the
prophet Isaiah. The pre-eminent position which Bishop
Lowth has occupied for more than half a century in this
department of sacred literature, may by some be thought
sufficient to justify the charge of presumption against any
attempt to improve upon the elegant production of his
superior mind. Yet, who that has examined the serious
discrepancies which exist between the renderings of his
translation and those of our common version, or that
adverts to the opinion, which has been delivered by the
best judges, that these discrepancies are principally to be
ascribed to the fondness for conjectural emendation in which
the learned prelate so freely indulged, but must admit, that
the study of the subject cannot justly be regarded as
foreclosed, and that further efforts are required to satisfy
the claims of a numerous class of readers, on whose minds
it must press with no ordinary degree of interest.

That labours of this kind are still wanted is also apparent
from the new impulse which has been given to the study
of Scripture criticism and interpretation; the advances
recently made im Oriental literature generally, and. parti-
cularly in the scientific treatment of Hebrew philology ;
and the multiplied sources of illustration which have been
supplied by books of ‘Travel, describing the geography,
manners, customs, &c., of the regions contiguous to, or

,

1V PREFACE.

forming the scenes of the transactions and objects to which
allusions are made in the Bible.

While, in this country, our prophet has been compara-
tively neglected, the critics of Germany have subjected his
book to rigid processes of philological and exegetical in-
vestigation. ‘The ‘Scholia’ of the younger Rosenmiiler,
and the Commentaries of Gesenius, Hitzig, and Hendewerk,
though lamentably abounding with imfidel sentiments, far
surpass any thing of the kind hitherto published, viewed
as works of pure criticism, and sources of materials for
successful interpretation. This remark applies particularly
to the two first:—to Rosenmiiller, on account of the
copiousness with which he exhibits the views of ancient
and modern writers, and the acumen which he generally
displays in arriving at his conclusions; and to Gesenius,
on account of his accurate knowledge of the etymological
and syntactical niceties of the Hebrew language, his judi-
cious use of the cognate dialects, his profound historical
and geographical research, and his careful investigation of
the difficulties which lay in his path.

Not finding that any attempt was likely soon to be made
to supply a desideratum painfully felt to exist m our theo-
logical literature, I was mduced to undertake the present
work." Having, during a period of thirty years, endeavoured

τ It was not till after the greater part of this work had been carried through
the press that the Commentary of the Rev. Albert Barnes made its appear-
ance in America. Such readers, however, as may compare the two will find
that they occupy altogether independent ground. [I would, in this Second
Edition, recommend to the attention of my readers the Commentary of Dr.
J. A. Alexander, Professor in Princeton College, New Jersey, as a work of
very superior merit, although containing very free strictures on the views
advocated in the present volume relating to the future restoration of the Jews
to Palestine,—views, however, which my continued studies of the prophetic
record have not induced me to retract.]

PREFACE. Vv

to render myself familar with the language in which Isaiah
wrote, and with the kindred dialects, whence so much help
is to be derived; having perused the principal Biblical
and Oriental productions which have appeared both in this
country and on the Continent; and having for some time
past more largely taken up Scripture exegesis as part of
my official duty, I trust I shall not be deemed obtrusive
in thus offering my contributions on the altar of sacred
truth.

In executing the task which I prescribed for myself, it
has been my aim to fix the reading of the text; to clear
up philological and other difficulties; to mark the pecu-
liarities of the style; to trace the logical connexion ; to
catch the spirit, and ascertain the meaning of the prophet ;
and, as far as possible, to express that meaning in language
true to the original, yet not ungrateful to an English ear.

With the view of more clearly exhibiting the elevated
character of the composition, and especially the paral-
lelisms, which so materially assist im determining the sense,
I have adopted the more approved method of throwing the
translation into a poetic or rhythmical form. In doing
this, I have been regulated chiefly by the divisions marked
out by the Hebrew accents, which will, on the whole, be
found to be correct.

Some may be disappointed on finding that I have not
combined doctrinal and practical observations with my
exegesis ; but the union of the two I perceived, from the
first, would be incompatible with the limits within which
I should be obliged to confine my labours. Nor could
I discover any pressing necessity for their introduction.
There is no lack of commentaries adapted for general
edification ; while it must be allowed we are still greatly

vi PREFACE.

deficient im such works as have for their definite object
the eliciting of “the mind of the Spirit,” upon which all
genuine Christian edification must be based. Besides, the
intermixture of spiritual matter with critical and philo-
logical questions, must have appeared nearly as much out
of place, as it would be to interlard a work of general
exposition with such topics. The departments are quite
distinct, and ought to be separately occupied.

I must apologize to the Oriental scholar for having printed
the Arabic without points :—a course which I was under the
necessity of pursuing, in order to prevent the awkward
appearance which the greater increase of space between the
lines must have produced, had they been inserted. It may
also be proper to state, that the references to passages in the
Old Testament are made according to the numeration in
the Hebrew Bible, when the original is in question; when
the sentiment only is involved, our own version has been
followed ; in some few cases, both are cited.

On one point, it is necessary specially to bespeak the in-
dulgent consideration of my readers,—the position which 1
have taken respecting the future restoration of the Jews to
Palestine. That such a restoration is taught im Scripture, I
had been accustomed to regard as more than questionable,
how firmly soever I believed in their future conversion to the
faith of Jesus. On examining, however, the different pro-
phecies of the Old Testament, which treat of a return of
that people, I have had the conviction forced upon my mind,
that while the greater number decidedly apply to the restora-
tion which took place on the capture of Babylon by Cyrus,
there are others which cannot, without violence, be thus
applied; but which, being, upon any just principle of inter-
pretation, equally incapable of application to the affairs of the

PREFACE. vil

Gentile Church, must be referred to events yet future in
Jewish history. In this class I particularly include the last
seven chapters of Isaiah, which immediately follow the re-
- markable prediction respecting the future conversion of the
Jews, at the close of the fifty-ninth. Not the most distant
allusion is made throughout these chapters to any circum-
stances connected with the deliverance from Babylon; while,
on the other hand, they contain a distinct recognition: of
various things belonging to the New Dispensation,—such as
the Divine Mission of the Messiah, the abolition of the
Jewish worship, the calling of the Gentiles, the rejection of
the Jews, and certain features of their present dispersion.
At the same time, there is such a marked distinction uni-
formly kept up between the persons spoken of and_ the
Gentiles; such an appropriation to their condition of lan-
guage elsewhere only used of the natural posterity of Abra-
ham; such an obvious description of the desolation of
Palestine ; and such express mention of a restored land,
mountains, vineyards, fields, houses, flocks, &c. which cannot
be figuratively understood, that; with no hermeneutical pro-
priety, can the scene be placed in the Gentile world, or
regarded as exhibiting the state of Gentile Christianity.

That the Jews shall cease to exist as a distinct race on
their incorporation into the Christian Church, the Bible no-
where teaches ; nor is such an event probable in the nature
of things. But, if they shall exist as believing Jews, on
what principle can it be maintained that they may not live in
Palestine, just as believing Britons do in Britain, believing
Americans in America, &c.? Christianity does not destroy
nationality, nor require an amalgamation of the different
races of mankind, however it may insist that, in a spiritual
point of view, all its subjects constitute but one nation and

vill PREFACE.

one people, holy and peculiar—the sons and daughters of the
Lord God Almighty. If the Jews had received the Messiah,
when preached to them by the Apostles, there is no reason to
suppose that they would have been expelled from their own
land; so that whatever admissions of Gentiles there might
have been into their community, it would still, nm the main,
have been made up of Jews, as in fact “the churches of
God ” were, ‘“ which in Judea were in Christ Jesus.”

Nor is there any thing, in what I conceive to be the doctrine
of Scripture on this subject, at all at variance with its repre:
sentations respecting the spiritual nature of the kingdom of
Christ. The Jews, when converted, will be required to con-
form in every point to the laws of that kingdom, precisely as
the Gentiles are on their becoming subject to its Head and
Lord. Not the slightest hint is given that any forms of eccle-
siastical polity, or any modes of worship, will obtain among
the restored Jewish converts, different from those instituted
by the Apostles.

As to the degree of temporal prosperity promised to them,
it appears to have special respect to the long-continued cir-
cumstances of adversity in which they have lived; and may
perhaps, after all, differ but little from that which will be
enjoyed by the members of the Dive kingdom generally,
during the happy period of the Millennium.

ἜΝ On finding that a Second Kdition of this Commentary was in request, I havé
subjected it to careful revision. The work, as a whole, remains substantially
the same, though it contains a few additions derived from more modern research,
and such slight alterations as I have deemed absolutely needful.

INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION.

SECTION I.

OF THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ISAIAH.

Noruine is known with historical certainty respecting the pro-
phet Isaiah, beyond what is furnished by his own book, and a few
scattered notices in the books of Kings and Chronicles.

His name, "7%, YESHAIAHU, signifies “The Salvation of Jeho-
vah,” being compounded of 7%, deliverance or salvation, and ὙΠ, an
apocopated form of 7. That this name perfectly accords with
the leading themes of his book cannot be doubted; but whether it
was given him by Divine direction, on the foreknowledge of the
fact that he was to be employed in propounding such themes, it 15
impossible to determine.

The only positive information which we possess respecting his
descent is, that he was the son of Amoz, (Heb. ¥8)—a person
whom some of the Fathers, from their ignorance of Hebrew, con-
founded with Amos, (Heb. ™¥,) the prophet who flourished in the
reign of Jeroboam 11. Many of the Jews likewise ascribe to him
a prophetical pedigree, but merely on the gratuitous assumption,
that in all cases in which the father of a prophet is mentioned by
name, he must have filled the same office. Others have attempted
to vindicate to him a royal parentage, maintaining that Amoz was
brother to King Amaziah; but rabbinical tradition is all they can
allege in support of their position. That he was a native of Judah,
there can be little doubt; and, that he resided at Jerusalem is evi-
dent from chap. vii. 3, vill. 2, xxii. 15, xxxvii. 2, 5, 21, ἄκουα but
whether he lived in the middle or lower division of the city, is not

: b

x INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION.

so certain, though some have gathered as much from the textual
reading of 2 Kings xx. 4. No circumstances of a domestic charac-
ter are mentioned, excepting that he was married, and that he had
two sons in the reign of Ahaz, to both of whom were given names
symbolical of important events in the Jewish history. The opinion
that he was twice married has merely been advanced in order to
give something like plausibility to a false interpretation of chap.
vu. 14.

Though it is extremely probable that he was first solemnly called
to the public discharge of his prophetical functions in the last year
of Uzziah, 7.e. B.c. 759, yet there is reason to conclude that he
had been occupied with public affairs long before: it being ex-
pressly stated 2 Chron. xxvi. 22, that he composed the complete
memoirs of that prince. At all events, he must have reached some
maturity of age by that time; and if, as is exceedingly probable,
he lived some time during the reign of Manasseh, it will follow,
that he filled the prophetical office during a period of about fifty
years, and must have been about eighty at the time of his death.
According to a very ancient Jewish tradition, he was sawn in two
by order of Manasseh, whom he had boldly reproved for his wicked-
ness.' To this the Apostle is supposed to allude, Heb. xi. 37.

As the exact position of our prophet, and the peculiar circum-
stances of the times in which he flourished, must necessarily either
have called forth, or given a distinctive colouring to the predictions
which he was commissioned to deliver, it is manifest, that an accu-
rate knowledge of his times is indispensable to a right interpretation
of his book. Now it so happens, that not only does a considerable
portion of the book itself abound with historical statements and
allusions, but full and circumstantial accounts of the principal
events which transpired in his days, and the relations of the sur-
rounding nations to the Jews, and to each other, are found in
several books of the Old Testament which treat of that period.

Two hundred and forty years before Isaiah entered upon his
prophetical office, the revolt under Rehoboam took place, by which

1 Gemara Jebam. iv. 13; Sanhed. fol. 103; Just. Mart. Dial. cum Tryph.
p. 349; Origen in Ps. xxxvii; Tertullian de Patientia; Jerome in Isa. lvii;
Augustine, Civ. Dei. xviii. 24; Chronicon Pasch. p. 155. See also Ascensio Jesaiz
Vatis, published by Dr. Lawrence in Ethiopic and Latin, Oxford, 1819, the
areek original of which is quoted by Epiphanius de Heres. xl. 2.

INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. ΧΙ

the Hebrew kingdom was divided into two separate states, which
not only made war on each other, but were subject to harassing in-
vasions by foreign enemies. During the first eighty years of this
period, the kingdom of Judah greatly prospered, especially under
the pious kings, Asa and Jehoshaphat; but the idolatries which they
had succeeded in suppressing having been revived, Jehovah visited
it with heavy calamities; and, in the last days of Amaziah it lay
prostrate at the feet of Jehoash, king of Israel.

Though only sixteen years of age when raised to the throne,
Uzziah soon discovered a spirit of energy and enterprise; not only
restoring the administration of public affairs from the state to which
it had been reduced, and promoting the agricultural interests of the
country, but organizing an immense army, fortifying the principal
cities, and carrying his victorious arms into the territories of the
Philistines, the Ammonites, and the Arabs. He also took the
Port of Elath on the eastern gulf of the Red Sea, and thus re-
opened the lucrative maritime trade of the East. Though, on the
whole, obedient to the Divine laws, yet this monarch suffered the
idolatrous altars to remain, and was ultimately smitten with leprosy
for presuming to invade the sacred office of the priesthood.

Although temporal prosperity appears to have continued during
the reign of Jotham, yet, owing to the increase of luxury and
sensual indulgence, true piety greatly declined; and the alliance
was formed between Pekah, king of Israel, and Rezin, king of
Syria, which was brought to bear against the kingdom the year
after his death, which took place B.c. 743. He was succeeded by
Ahaz, the most abandoned monarch that had yet ascended the
Jewish throne. During his reign every thing was thrown into con-
fusion; the law of God was violated in the most reckless manner ;
superstition and idolatry were openly practised; a Syrian altar and
Syrian gods were introduced; and the temple was not only greatly
defaced, but at last entirely closed against the worship of the true
God.? Having been repulsed with great loss by the confederate
powers of Israel and Syria, and suffering from the Edomites and
the Philistines, Ahaz applied to Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria,
for assistance, for which he paid him a subsidy, raised from the
treasures of the temple, the nobility, and the royal palace. It

1 2 Kings xv. 1—7; 2 Chron. xxvi.
2 Isa. 11. 6—8; 2 Kings xv. 32—88, xvi. 1—4; 2 Chron. xxvii. xxviil.

xi INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION.

would appear, however, that, though the Assyrian monarch pos-
sessed himself of Damascus and some of the cities belonging to
Israel, the inhabitants of which he carried into exile, he afforded
no real succour to Ahaz, but, on the contrary, greatly harassed and
perplexed him as his tributary.’

On the death of Ahaz, B.c. 728, he was succeeded by Hezekiah,
a pious and zealous prince, who abolished idolatry, and all the
objects that had been perverted to its use; restored the temple
and worship of Jehovah; improved the fortifications and water-
works around Jerusalem; reduced the Philistines; and shook off
the Assyrian yoke. In the fourteenth year of his reign, however,
t.e. B.C. 714, he was menaced by Sennacherib, who was advancing
with a large army through Judea, with a view to the conquest of
Egypt. To avert the threatened calamity, Hezekiah paid to the
king of Assyria the stipulated sum of three hundred talents of
silver, and thirty talents of gold, to raise which he was obliged to
appropriate all the treasures in the temple and the palace; but that
monarch, deeming it unsafe to leave so strong a power in his rear,
reduced most of the cities of Judah, and ordered a numerous body
of his troops to invest and subdue Jerusalem. Summoned in lan-
guage of the most insolent description to surrender, Hezekiah
applied by earnest prayer for Divine protection and deliverance ;
and by the miraculous destruction of the Assyrian army the city
was relieved. On his recovery from a dangerous sickness, which
had been pre-signified by a miraculous phenomenon, he was
honoured with an embassy from the court of Babylon; but giving
way to a spirit of ostentation, he received a severe rebuke in the
announcement of the Babylonish captivity.’

In the succeeding reign of Manasseh, idolatry, with all its accom-
panying evils, was publicly established, and maintained in the most
daring and outrageous manner by that apostate king; in conse-
quence of which, notwithstanding the penitent efforts which he
afterwards made to regain the ground he had lost, and the zealous
reformation effected by Josiah, the Jewish affairs continued gra-
dually to decline, till at last, partly by internal broils, partly by the
invasion of Pharaoh Necho, and finally by the imposition of the
Babylonish yoke, they were reduced to the lowest possible state ;

1 2 Kings xvi.; 2 Chron. xxviii.; 1 Chron. v. 26. i
2 2 Kings xviiiim—xx.; 2 Chron. xxix.—xxxii; Isa, xxxvii—xxxix,

INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. Xill

the city of Jerusalem was destroyed; the temple burnt with fire ;
and the principal inhabitants were carried away captive to Babylon.'
Though Isaiah can have lived only during a very limited period of
this last section of the history of his people, yet no inconsiderable
portion of his predictions relate to their condition as located in the
midst of idolaters during the captivity, and their happy restoration
to their own land through the instrumentality of Cyrus.?

During the space of time occupied by the ministry of the
prophet, the Jews were more or less affected by the influence of
foreign states, some of which were the most powerful empires of
antiquity. In their immediate vicinity were the rival kingdom of
Israel, the Syrian and Tyrian powers, the Philistines, Moabites,
Edomites, and Arabians, by whose warlike demonstrations, sudden
incursions, and victorious enterprises, they were greatly annoyed,
and frequently brought to the verge of ruin. In the ancient
kingdom of the Pharaohs, at this time successively under the rule
of the nineteenth of Manetho’s dynasties, the Dodecharchy, and
the dynasty of Psammeticus, they had a powerful neighbour, to
the shield of whose protection they constantly looked for safety
when threatened by the most formidable of their assailants—
Assyria.’ This empire, the capital of which was Nineveh, was, so
far as Jewish affairs are concerned, not the ancient power of that
name, supposed to have been founded by Nimrod, but that founded
on the death of Sardanapalus, by Arbaces the Mede, about the
seventh year of Uzziah, B.c. 804. The Assyrian monarchs men-
tioned in Scripture as having invaded Palestine, are Pul, Tiglath-
pileser, Shalmaneser, Sargon, Sennacherib, and LEzar-haddon.
Their sceptre was one of almost unlimited sway, being wielded
from Persia to the Mediterranean, and from the Caspian Sea to
the Persian Gulf. Yet, not satisfied with this extensive empire,
Sargon and Sennacherib projected the conquest of Egypt, the
mighty expedition undertaken with a view to effect which occupies
a conspicuous place on the pages of our prophet, both on account
of its threatening aspect, and the Divine interposition by which it
was terminated. The Chaldean power in Babylon, by which, in
conjunction with the Medes, the Assyrian empire was overthrown,
now began to raise its head, and for a time exerted a mighty

1 9 Kings xxi. 1—18, xxii—xxv.; 2 Chron. xxxiii. 1—10, xxxiii—xxxvi.
? Chapters xl—lii. 12, 3 Isa, xxx, 1—17, xxxk

ΧΙΥ INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION.

influence over the countries of hither Asia, and, among the rest,
on Judea. To this empire, however, and to that of Persia, by
“which, in its turn, it was subverted, no purely historical reference
is made by Isaiah, excepting in chap. xxiii. 13. In like manner,
Rome, which was founded in his days, is only recognized in the
way of prophetical anticipation, in so far as her history was to have
a bearing on the church of God; and is presented to our view
under the indefinite and general names of “‘ The West,” and “ The
Maritime Lands” in that direction. From the mount of inspired
vision the prophet surveys the surrounding nations; and, like a
faithful watchman, gives warning of each, describes some of their
more striking characteristics, and predicts their final destruction.

Contemporaneously with Isaiah flourished the prophets Hosea,
and Micah, between which last and him there are some remarkable
points of resemblance.

SECTION II.
OF THE AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGRITY OF THE TEXT.

WHEN we speak of the integrity of any writing, we understand
by the term an immunity from corruption, whether consisting in
the removal from the text of any thing which it originally con-
tained, or the introduction of matter into it by a foreign hand.
That an absolute literal identity exists between the present copies
of the Bible and the autographs whence they have mediately been
derived, will not be maintained by any who are at all acquainted
with the history of literature generally, or with that of sacred
literature in particular. The existence of various readings is
matter of ocular demonstration. Its prevention could only have
been effected by a continued series of miraculous interventions,
which God hath not been pleased to employ. He hath committed
to fallible and erring men the custody and transmission of the
sacred oracles.

Against the supposition, however, that they have been wilfully
corrupted, or that their integrity has been in any way materially
affected by the errors of transcription, there exist the strongest

INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. XV

possible reasons. The sacredness of their claims; the scrupulous
regard which has ever been paid to them by those in whose hands
they have been deposited; their having been a common public
property, and not the monopoly of a privileged caste, or of any
influential individual; the check which one copy and one portion
has had upon another; their constant use in the church of God;
together with the absence of any adequate motive ;—all go satis-
factorily to shew the improbability of attempts having been made
to alter them, and the impossibility that any such attempts, sup-
posing them to have been made, would escape detection and
merited reprobation. With respect to the Hebrew Scriptures
especially, nothing is more susceptible of demonstration than the
fact, that those entrusted with the care of them have in all ages
regarded them with sacred, and even with superstitious veneration,
and have watched over their purity with the utmost vigilance.*
They have regarded them not only as their national charter, but as
the foundation of their religious belief, and the source of their
religious hopes. They have received them as the productions of
men who were the subjects of a supernatural Divine influence,
specially exerted upon them for the purpose of enabling them
correctly to register the communications of the will of God, and
those events the knowledge of which was calculated to be useful
to posterity. These men were not obscure and unknown indi-
viduals, but public and official characters, whose credentials had
been tested and approved as genuine by the community in which
they lived, as well as by those more immediately called upon to
judge of such matters. No book was received into the Jewish
canon that could not be proved to have been written or sanctioned
by one who was accredited as a Divine messenger; and after the
canon was completed, no one dared to add to or detract from its
sacred contents.” To suppose, under such circumstances, the
existence of deliberate or fraudulent corruptions, would be to
advance a position utterly at variance with historical fact.

It is matter of notoriety that, although the authenticity and
integrity of the prophecies of Isaiah have, in all past ages since

1 For an account of the rigidity of the laws by which Jewish copyists are
tied down in performing their task, see my Biblical Researches and Travels in
Russia, pp. 208—211.

ἢ See my Lectures on Divine Inspiration, Lect, ix.

Xvi INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION.

the period of their composition, been above suspicion,—the book
having been firmly believed both by Jews and Christians to be his
throughout,—they have of late years been assailed by certain critics
in Germany, who have expended upon the discussion of the
subject all that their powers of invention, and their stores of
philological and critical learning could supply. It is, however, not
a little remarkable that these attacks obviously sprang out of, and
have, for the most part, been conducted in the spirit of those
investigations respecting the authenticity of the works of Homer,
Cicero, and other authors of classic celebrity which were carried on
by Wolf, Heyne, Ilgen, and other distinguished literati of the
day. It having become fashionable to break up the writings of an
ancient author into distinct parts, and to dwell upon the differences
in point of style, &c. which appeared to exist between one part
and another, the same process was resorted to in the treatment of
the Sacred Authors, more especially in that of Isaiah, whose book,
being of greater extent, and comprising a greater variety of
subjects than that of any other prophet, afforded more enlarged
scope for the exercise of critical acumen. ΤῸ this must be added
the sceptical spirit originally generated by Spinoza, and afterwards
propagated by our English deists, the influence of which has been
extensively felt on the Continent, and nowhere more powerfully
than in the land of the Reformation.

Doubts respecting the authenticity of certain parts of the book
of Isaiah were first started by Koppe and Déderlein; the former of
whom was the translator of Lowth into German, with additional
Notes and Observations; and the latter, the author of a New Trans-
lation of the prophet, with brief Motdscs in Latin, The subject has
since been tale up and discussed by Justi, Eichhorn, Rosen-
miiller, Paulus, Bauer, Bertholdt, De Wette, Gesenius, Hitzig, and
Hendewerk ; and not only have chapters xl.—lxvi. been abstracted
from our prophet, and ascribed to some writer supposed to have
flourished about the time of the return from Babylon, to whom,
for the sake of distinction, have been given the names of “ Doniato:
Isaiah” and “ Pseudo-Isaiah,” but the following portions of the
book have likewise been attributed to the same, or to some other
author: chap. 11. 2—4, xi. xi, xii. 1—xiv. 23, xv. xvi. xix.
18—25, xxi. xxil. 1—14, xxiii. xxiv.—xxvii. xxxiv.

These writers insist that the state of things set forth in these

INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. XVil

portions is described in the style of history, not of prophecy ; that
no distinet intimations of the captivity are previously furnished ;
that the statements contained in them would have been unintelli-
gible to the contemporaries of Isaiah; that, as predictions, the details
would be too circumstantial; that no appeals are made to them by
Jeremiah ; and that the style is not identical with that employed
in the rest of the book. To attempt a formal or elaborate refuta-
tion of these several objections would be actwm agere. They have
been more or less fully met by Piper,’ Uhland,’ Beckhaus,’® van der
Palm,‘ Dereser,’ Greve,’ Moller,’ Arndt,’ Jahn,’ Kleinert,!° Heng-
stenberg,'’ Professor Lee,’? and Dr. J. Pye Smith,’* who have
shewn, that they have totally failed in establishing the hypotheses
in support of which they have been brought forward. I shall,
therefore, confine what observations I have to make to some of the
leading points in the controversy, and refer such of my readers
as may wish to pursue the subject farther, to the writers just
specified.

It must be obvious to all who peruse the antagonist articles, that
the πρώτον ψεῦδος to which they are chiefly to be ascribed, is a
total disbelief of prophetic inspiration. In most of them this is
distinctly avowed; and the different positions that have been
presented in the form of argument, are merely taken, in order, if

' Integritas Iesaize, a recentiorum conatibus vindicata. Gryphsw. 1792. 4to.

2 Vaticinium Iesaiz, cap. xiii. Tub. 1798. 4to.

3 Ueber die Integritat der Proph. Schriften des. A. B. Halle, 1798.

4 Jesaia vertaald en opgehelderd. Amsterd. 1805. 3 Deel. 8vo.

5 In Brentano’s Bibelwerk. Frankf. 1808.

6 Vaticiniorum Iesaiz pars continens Carminaa cap. xl. usque adlvi.9. Am-
stelod. 1810. 4to.

7 De Authentia oraculorum Esai, cap. xl—Ixvi. Haynie, 1825. 4to.

8 De loco, qui extat apud Iesaiam, cap. xxiv.—xxvii., vindicando et explicando
‘ccommentatio. Hamb. 1826. 4to. J

9 In his Einleitung, Th. 11. 2 Abtheil. pp. 458—494; and in Horne’s Introd.
vol. iv. pp. 165—175.

0 Kleinert tber die Echtheit sammtlicher in dem Buche Iesaia enthaltenen
Weissagungen. Berlin, 1829. 8vo.

1 Christologie des Alten Testaments, &c. Berlin, 1829—1835. I Th. 2 Ab-
theil. pp. 168—206. American Translation by Dr. Keith. Alexandria, 1836—
1839. Vol. i. pp. 395—423.

® Sermons and Dissertations. London, 1830, 8vo. pp. 157—208.

18 The Principles of Interpretation as applied to the Prophecies. 2d Edit.
London, 1831. Supplementary Note G. p. 67.

Ὁ

XVlli INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION.

possible, to sustain the infidel principle. According to Eichhorn,’ the
prophets were men gifted with extraordinary intellectual powers,
and rich in the experience of human affairs, by which they were
raised far above their contemporaries, and enabled to extend their
penetrating views into futurity. In the preface to his ‘ Commen-
tary on Isaiah,’* Gesenius expressly avows, that he “can find no
supernatural or definite prediction in the Hebrew prophets ;” and
in the course of his work, whenever he is pressed by any thing in
the shape of such prediction, he exerts his ingenuity in attempting
to lower it down to a lucky conjecture, founded upon existing
aspects of the political horizon, or other circumstances of the times.
Hitzig* believes prophecy to have been nothing more than the
effect of physical ecstasy, moral illumination, poetic inspiration, and
a shrewd calculating on the future from present events and circum-
stances. And Hendewerk,* the latest writer on the book, agrees
with him in the main, investing the prophets with “a poetical
spirit of divination,” which he thinks is sufficient to account for the
foresayings contained in their writings. Ἢ

In diametrical opposition to all such statements of speculative
critics stands the inspired testimony of the Apostle Peter:* ‘“ PRo-
PHECY CAME NOT IN OLD TIME BY THE WILL OF MAN, BUT HOLY
MEN OF GOD SPAKE AS THEY WERE MOVED BY THE HOLy GHost.”
It is impossible for words more strongly to deny the origination of
the predictions of the Hebrew seers in the simple operation of their
mental faculties, or more positively to vindicate for it that super-
natural influence by which the Spirit of God revealed to them
things to come. They merely gave utterance to what they were
borne onward by a Divine impulse to announce. And the same
Apostle distinctly recognizes such influence as enabling the pro-
phets to predict the distant sufferigs and glory of the Messiah:
“Searching what, or what manner of time THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST
WHICH WAS IN THEM DID SIGNIFY, WHEN IT TESTIFIED BEFORE-
HAND the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” °
Our Lord himself likewise declares, that “the prophets” had
““ WRITTEN concerning ” him’—a declaration which most especially

1 Einleitung in das A. Τὶ, Band. iv. καὶ 39. 2 P. πεν:

% Der Prophet Iesaja. Heidelb. 1833. 8vo. Pref. xxv. pp. 463, 464.

* Des Propheten lesaja Weissagungen. Kéonigsb. 1838. 8vo. Einleitung.
5 2d Epist. 1. 21. 6 ] Epist. i. 11. 7 Luke xxiv. 44.

INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. x1x

applies to Isaiah, whose writings, according to the same Divine
authority, contain express prophecies of Him and his kingdom.

But, if these holy men were the subjects of an influence exerted
upon their minds by the Omniscient Spirit, to whose eye the whole
of the future, in the most minute of its existences and modifica-
tions, was equally present with the entire range of then existent
being, what incongruity is there in believing, that the passages in
our prophet which contain detailed descriptions of events that were
to transpire in the history of the Jewish nation long after his time,
actually proceeded from his pen? What greater impediment can
there be in the way of exercising such belief, than in believing that
he “saw the glory of Christ and spake of him?”’? So long as we
confine our ideas of prophecy within the sphere of purely human
activity, we must necessarily deny, as contrary to all experience,
the ability to descry and predict contingent future events,—such as
those described in the disputed portions of Isaiah must have been
to him and all who lived in his time; but no sooner do we candidly
yield our minds to the authoritative claims of the Scripture doc-
trine of prophetic inspiration, than the absurdity vanishes, and all is
plain, consistent with itself, and, in every respect, worthy of God.’
It then becomes manifest, that, to announce the conquest of
Babylon, and the consequent deliverance of the captive Jews by
Cyrus, at a period when the Assyrian power was yet dominant,
when the Babylonian state was only in its germ, and the Median
empire had no existence; to foretell the destruction of Tyre by
Nebuchadnezzar one hundred and fifty years prior to the event ;
to point out the birth, character, sufferings, death, resurrection, and
glorious reign of our Saviour, with the utmost minuteness, seven
centuries beforehand; and to describe events which are still future
in the history of the Jewish people, were all equally possible and
equally easy. In every case the prophet spoke as the Spirit gave
him utterance.

It deserves special notice, that in the very portion of the book
which has been most violently attacked, there occur passages in
which the Divine origin of prophecy is the subject of direct and
unanswerable appeal. or instance :

1 John xii. 41.
3. See my Lectures, wf sup. pp. 253, 254, 315—319,

ΧΧ INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION.

‘Who published this of OLD?
Who declared it FROM ANCIENT TIMES ?
Was it not I, Jehovah ὁ"
And again :—
“1 am God, and there is none like me,
Declaring the end FROM THE BEGINNING,
From ANCIENT TIMES things not yet done.”’ *

With which may be compared the appeal made in the book of
Ezekiel: * “Thus saith the Lord God, Art thou he of whom I
have spoken OF OLD TIME by my servants the prophets of Israel,
which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee
against them ?”

That the predictions respecting the Baga state of Judea, and
the return from the captivity, should be couched in language
descriptive of the present, or rather of the past, is perfectly in
accordance with the animated picturesque character of the pro-
phetic style. So vividly were the circumstances exhibited to the
view of Isaiah in prophetic vision, and so powerful was the im-
pression produced upon his mind, that no language which did not
invest them with present reality, could give adequate expression to
his feelings. The scenes are thus brought out more boldly, and
placed in a much stronger light before our eyes. They strike us
more forcibly than they could have done had they been depicted in
the simple language of the future. This feature of the more
animated prophetic style was not unobserved by the Fathers:
Both Justin Martyr,* and Eusebius,’ distinctly recognize it. And
in later times its existence has justly been regarded by most as a
settled point in the interpretation of the prophecies.® It is, indeed,
no unusual thing for the other prophets as well as Isaiah to take
their position in the future, and then describe events as actually
happening in their presence, or as possessing all the certainty of

1 Chap. xlv. 21. 2 Chap. xlvi. 10. 3 Chap. xxxviii. 17.

4 Ὅταν δὲ προφητικὸν πνεῦμα τὰ μέλλοντα γίνεσθαι ὡς ἤδη γενόμενα λέγῃ» ὡς
καὶ ἐν τοῖς προειρημένοις δοξάσαι ἔστιν. Apol. p. 81.

ἢ Κατά τινα δὲ συνήθειαν προφητικὴν, τὸ μέλλον ὁ προφήτης ὡς παρῴχηκος
ἀναφωνεῖ, καὶ ὡς περὶ ἑαυτοῦ τοῦ προφετεύοντος δηλοῖ. Demonst. Evangel.
lib. iv. cap. 30.

5 Clericus ad Deut. xxx1i, 80,

INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. XXi

~

past transactions. The circumstances, that our prophet assumes
this position, and that the design of his predictions relative to the
captivity being to promote the recovery of his people from idolatry
and other sins, and to encourage them by repeated announcements
of their deliverance, and of still more important deliverances future
to their return, sufficiently account for the absence of definite
denunciations of that calamity as the subject of future infliction.
He takes it for granted as sufficiently known, from his own positive
prophecy of it, chap. xxxix. 5—7, and from the predictions of
other prophets.

From the whole structure of chapters x1—lxvi. it would appear,
that they formed no part of the instructions publicly delivered by
the prophet in the course of his personal ministry, and were,
therefore, not so much designed for the use of those who lived in
his own day, as to be preserved for the benefit of those who should
live in aftertimes. They were, in all probability, composed in the
reign of Manasseh, when he was under the necessity of laying
aside his prophetic trumpet, and restricting his service to the use
of the pen. At the same time, there can be little doubt that
copies of these inspired compositions would be eagerly sought after
by those in whose minds there still reigned a supreme regard for
the God of Israel, and whose tenderest sympathies were called
into exercise by the present and prospective condition of their
nation. And whatever obscurity might have attached to their
contents, by which such as perused them would be prevented from
obtaining that full and clear insight into their meaning which was
to be the privilege of those who should live in succeeding ages, yet
they could not but discover much in their general bearing, and also
in many of their particular announcements, to inspire them with
the brightest hopes, excite them to persevering confidence in
Jehovah, and instruct them to walk and worship so as to please
him. Though, like other prophetic Scripture, they might be
unintelligible to the wicked, yet such as were endowed with spiritual
wisdom, would derive from them rich practical information.'

As it regards the objection taken to the circumstantiality with
which many things are described by the prophet, it may only
be necessary to remark, that it will lie against other prophecies

1 Dan, xi1..9,, 10.

XX INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION.

equally as against those in question. With what particularity, for
instance, do Jeremiah and Ezekiel describe the countries and cities
on which Divine judgments were to be inflicted, and specify by
name the instruments by whom their destruction was to be
effected! With what minuteness of detail does Daniel set forth
the time of the Messiah’s appearance; the manner and nature of
his death; and the fates of the great monarchies with which those
of the church of God were, to a certain extent, to be mixed up!
Does not Micah specify the birth-place of the Saviour? and
Zechariah his humble entrance, as a spiritual king, into Jeru-
salem? And as to the express mention of Cyrus by name, have
we not a parallel in the designation of Josiah upwards of three
centuries before he was born ?1

Were it necessary to enter into the Mlulévteal part of the
question, it might easily be shewn, that the arguments employed
on this ground against the authenticity of the disputed passages are
of the slenderest possible character; and that, were any degree of
validity to be allowed them, they would not only go to cancel large
portions of every book in the Bible, but to bastardize important
sections in the most celebrated human productions. Let any one
apply the same critical pruning knife to Shakespeare, or Walter
Scott, or Milton, or Hume, and he may produce equally satis-
factory proofs of the spuriousness of much that has been ascribed
to these writers. Though with respect to general style and
phraseology there is a striking conformity running throughout
our prophet, yet because he employs a few terms and modes of
expression in one part of his book, which are not found in the
other, it is seriously argued, that he could not have written
it all!

On the whole, it must be concluded, not only that the denial of
original authorship as it respects these chapters rests upon no
external evidence whatever, and upon none internal beyond what
is brought out by the ingenuity of speculation, but that the entire
stream of external evidence is directly and broadly against it,
while there is no lack of internal characteristics which go to identify
the writer with Isaiah.

11 Kings xiii. 2.

INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. XXill

It is now time to inquire what judgment we are to entertain
respecting the text in its more minute forms, or the degree of
immunity from verbal errors which may justly be claimed for it.
If we are to receive without qualification the assertion of Bishop
Lowth,’ in reference to the Hebrew Text in general, “ that
mistakes are frequent, and of various kinds; of letters, words, and
sentences; by variation, omission, transposition; such as often
injure the beauty and elegance, embarrass the construction, alter
or obscure the sense, and sometimes render it quite unintelligible ;”
or that which he has advanced respecting the text of Isaiah in
particular, that “it is considerably injured, and stands in need of
frequent emendation,”* then it is manifest it must require no
small effort to recover it from the corruptions to which it has
been subject. In accordance with such views of the case, the
learned prelate proceeded fearlessly to adopt those measures which
he deemed necessary for effecting such recovery. All who are
conversant with his notes must be aware, that a considerable
portion of them is occupied with attempts to emend the text,
partly with the aid of MSS. and of the Ancient Versions, and
partly by conjecture; the result of which has been, that not only
has the original text become in a great measure unsettled, but
occasion has been taken by other critics, inferior in taste, though
not in boldness, as Blayney, Newcome, Horsley, and Boothroyd,
to deal in the same way with other sacred writers, to the no
small disparagement of their integrity. If the bishop had confined
himself to the collation of MSS., and a rigid examination of the
renderings in the Ancient Versions; and, after carefully weighing
the evidence which they furnished in favour or otherwise of any
particular reading, and minutely investigating the Hebrew usage
and that of the cognate dialects, had presented us with the result
of his labours, they would doubtless have merited the unqualified
approval of every competent judge: but, indulging as he has done,
after the example of Houbigant, in unnecessary and groundless
conjectures, partly original, and partly adopted from that author,
and from Drs. Secker, Durell, and Jubb, and altering the text
agreeably to such conjectures, he has laid himself open to the just
censure of all sober and judicious critics. His rash and unwar-

? Prelim, Dissert. p. lxiv. 2 Tbid. p. Ixiv.

XXIV INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION.

ranted emendations were, indeed, speedily exposed by Professor
D. Kocher, a learned Swiss divine,! who, though he did not treat
the bishop with that urbanity to which he was otherwise entitled,
and carried his notions of the literal perfection of the Hebrew text
to an unjustifiable length, certainly did succeed in convincing the
learned that our prophet deserved a very different treatment from
that to which he had been so unceremoniously subjected. Since
that time, whatever commendations have been passed upon Lowth
for his fine poetic taste, his classical elegance, and his merits as a
writer on Hebrew poetry, and these have not been few, there is
but one opinion among Continental critics in reference to his
emendatorial conjectures. Gesenius has demonstrated, that they
are, in most instances, altogether uncalled for; in others, without
any solid foundation ; and that, had the bishop been more familiar
with the comparative philology of the Hebrew text, and the
Oriental dialects, and more deeply versed in the minutiz of the
Hebrew syntax, he would have been under no temptation to
tax his ingenuity, or to have recourse to the desperate remedy
which he has so freely applied in the exercise of therapeutic
criticism.

In the following commentary, I have suffered no instance to
pass unnoticed, in which I have judged that unwarrantable
liberties have been taken with the text, though I have not always
deemed it necessary to mention thei authors. It has, I trust,
been made apparent to the satisfaction of the reader, that it is by
no means in that corrupt state in which it has been represented ;
and that, carefully and accurately examined by all the lights which
the present improved state of Oriental philology and Biblical
criticism supplies, it justly demands our undiminished confidence
and respect. The errors of transcription which have crept into
it, are, in general, of little or no consequence as affecting the
sense, and may easily be rectified by a judicious use of the various
readings exhibited in the MSS.; by comparing the renderings
given in the Ancient Versions; by consulting the testimonies of
Jewish and Christian writers ; and by due attention to the context,
and to the scope of the writer.

1 Vindiciew 5. textus Hebreei Esais adversus Ὁ. Roberti Lowthi criticam.
Bernx, 1786, 8vo.

INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 'XXKV

SECTION III.
OF THE STYLE.

Tovey the prophets were the subjects of Divine Inspiration,
there is no reason to conclude that they were bereft of the mental
peculiarities which constituted their individuality of character, or
that they employed any other style or manner of writing than
what was natural to them.’ It cannot, therefore, be improper to
inquire into these peculiarities, or to treat of the respective diction
of each, as we should that of merely human authors, only care be
taken to cherish due and becoming reverence of the Holy Spirit,
to whose infallible regulation and control it was constantly subject.

While Isaiah possesses much in common with the other prophets,
there are many peculiar features by which his compositions are
distinguished. In character he is energetic, bold, and uncom-
promising ; of a lively and fertile imagination, yet full of serious
feeling and deep thought; zealous for the honour of the Divine
perfections, the spirituality of worship, and the purity of the
theocracy ; the undaunted reprover of sin, of every kind, and in
whomsoever found; the tender-hearted patriot, who took the
deepest interest in the circumstances and prospects of his people ;
and the compassionate friend of the Gentile world.

His language is uniformly adapted to the subjects of which he
treats. In narrative he exhibits the utmost simplicity and perspi-
cuity; in announcing the divine oracles, his tones are marked by
a singular degree of solemnity; in his descriptions, he is minute,
discriminating, frequently cumulative, and highly graphic; in
menacing foreign enemies, and the wicked among the Jews, he
is full of vehemence and force. His expostulations are urgent and
pathetic; his hortatory addresses, earnest and powerful. Nothing
can surpass the sublimity of those passages in which the sovereignty
and infinite majesty of Jehovah are set forth, or the severe irony
and satire with which he attacks the worshippers of idols. Nor is
he equalled by any of the other prophets in the magnificence,
variety, and choice of the images which he employs, especially

1 See my Lectures on Divine Inspiration, pp. 391—895.

d

ΧΧΥῚ INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION.

when predicting the reign of the Messiah, and the future happimess
of the church.

The poetical structure of his sentences is exquisitely graceful
and elegant. Their flow is, in most instances, soft and pleasing:
at times they roll onward like the majestic billows of the ocean.
He not only abounds in the simpler or cognate parallelism of
members, which constitutes one of the most prominent features of
Hebrew poetry, but in the varied forms of the antithetic,
synthetic, and introverted parallelism. Many of his sentences are
highly artificial, and so rhythmically combined as to produce the
happiest effect. He is fond of paronomasias, apostrophes, com-
parisons, emphatic forms of words, and iterations of the same
word. His images are dignified and appropriate. They are,
likewise, greatly diversified, and very often of the boldest and
most sublime description. Not unfrequently he proceeds with a
rapidity which leads the reader to suppose that he intends to carry
out the subject to a much greater length ; when, all at once, by an
abrupt transition, he takes up a fresh subject, which he again as
suddenly drops. ‘This is specially observable in cases in which
there is some idea or expression in the discourse which leads his
thoughts to the future Redeemer. Grotius compares him to
Demosthenes, of whom, in point of time, he had the precedence
by nearly four centuries; and by men of taste in every country,
who have been capable of relishing his beauties, he has had
awarded to him the highest meed of praise.

For finished specimens of his style, the reader may consult the
description of Jewish female dress, chap. iil. 16—24; the parable
of the vineyard, chap. v.; the approach of the Assyrian army
towards Jerusalem, chap. x. 28—32; the ode on the king of
Babylon, chap. xiv.; the sentence of Egypt, chap. xix.; the
threatening against Shebna, chap. xxii. 16—18 ; the calamities of
Jerusalem, chap. xxiv.; the transcendent superiority of Jehovah,
chap. xl. 12—31,; the absurdity of idol-worship, chap. xliv.; the
corruptions prevalent among the Jews in the time of our Lord,
chap. lix.; and their happy condition when restored in the latter
day, chap. Ix.

INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. XXVIli

SECTION IV.
OF THE PRINCIPLES OF PROPHETICAL INTERPRETATION.

It is manifest from the widely different, and even contradictory
interpretations which have been, and still are given of the pro-
phetic records, that we are far from having arrived at any settled,
solid, or satisfactory principles on which to rest their exegesis.
Many causes might doubtless be assigned for this want of agree-
ment, but the following, there is reason to believe, are some of the
principal :—

First, the want of a familiar acquaintance with the distinctive
characteristics of prophetical language. Instead of making proper
allowance for the highly poetical character of the tropes and figures
with which it abounds, by which objects are frequently magnified
or diminished beyond the reality, and carefully endeavouring to
ascertain the exact meaning of its symbols, interpreters have too
much treated it as if it were plain or ordinary prose composition.
Figurative terms and phrases have been taken in their literal
import, and applied to the objects which they primarily designate ;
while others, which are introduced merely for the sake of embellish-
ing the style, vividly delineating the objects, and thus heightening
the effect, have had separate and important meanings attached to
them, as if each had been designed to convey a distinct portion of
prophetical truth. All conceivable aspects of a particular image
have been brought out, and invested with a corresponding circum-
stantial detail of meaning in their supposed bearing upon the
subject of the prophecy. And few, even of those who admit the
principle, that the writings of the prophets are to be interpreted
with due regard to the claims of poetic diction, are found to carry
it out with any thing like uniform consistency.

Another cause of lax and unstable interpretation, is a proneness
to regard prophecies as strictly parallel in point of subject, in
which the same particular terms or modes of expression are em-
ployed. Important as verbal parallels must ever be viewed, still it
is chiefly with respect to their_subserviency to the purposes of
philological elucidation that their value is to be appreciated. In
innumerable instances the identical words are used, while the
subjects treated of have no affinity whatever with each other. To

XXVili INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION.

transfer, therefore, what is said in one passage to the matter con-
tained in another, simply on the ground of some degree of verbal
identity, without at all inquiring whether there be any real agree-
ment as to persons, nations, events, &c., must necessarily be pro-
ductive of the grossest perversion of Divine truth. By jumbling pro-
phecies together which ought to have been kept perfectly distinct, the
Spirit of God is forced to put a construction upon his own words
totally different from that which he intended they should bear.

The meaning of prophecy has likewise been greatly obscured, by
the propensity of most commentators to indulge in mystical, or
spiritual modes of interpretation.’ Not satisfied with the obvious
literal application, they endeavour to elicit more recondite or
spiritual senses. ΤῸ abide by the simple import of a passage, if
that import be temporal or earthly in its aspect, is deemed not only
meagre and confined, but carnal, and unworthy of the Spirit of
inspiration. Accordingly another construction is superinduced
upon it, which is supposed to be richer and more dignified in itself,
and better fitted to promote edification. If these writers had
merely deduced spiritual inferences from such temporal predictions,
or made observations upon them for purposes of godly improve-
ment, they would have conferred a benefit upon their readers ; but
the effect of their applying them in such a way as to convey the
idea, that they are giving the mind of the Spirit, is to destroy all
certainty of interpretation, to throw open the Scriptures to the
inroads of imagination and caprice, and, by invalidating a very
considerable portion of the evidence which prophecy furnishes of
the Divine authority of the Bible, to pave the way for the spread
of scepticism and infidelity. 'Tosuch a mode of interpretation may
justly be applied the admirable remark of Hooker, “ There is
nothing more dangerous than this licentious and deluding art,
which changeth the meaning of words, as alchymy doth or would
do the substance of metals, maketh of any thing what it listeth,
and bringeth in the end all truth to nothing.”

Nearly allied to this method is the theory of a double sense of
prophecy, which has also been very extensively adopted. While

1 “God knows, what a multitude of meanings the wit of man imagineth to
himself in the Scriptures, which neither Moses, the Prophets, nor the Apostles
ever conceived,”—Raleigh’s Hist. of the World, chap. ii. § 1.

> Ecclesiastical Polity, Book v. sect. 59.

INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION, XXIX

it is granted by those who advocate this theory, that many of the
predictions of the Hebrew seers have a lower or temporal sense,
z.e. that they treat of persons and circumstances in the history of
the Jews and the surrounding nations, it is maintained that, over
and above this, they were intended to teach certain truths respecting
the person, people, kingdom, and enemies of Christ. According to
this view of the subject, in interpreting prophecy we are to look for
a two-fold accomplishment: first, one that is temporal, and then
another corresponding to it that is spiritual. We may primarily
interpret of the inferior object whatever in the prediction is found
susceptible of being applied to it; but having done this, we are, by
means of analogy, to find out some higher object which it is
supposed to resemble or prefigure, and to this we are to apply it in
its secondary and plenary sense.

To this theory it may justly be objected, that it is unnecessary,
unsatisfactory, and unwarranted. It is wnnecessary, because there
is really no prophecy which may not consistently \be restricted to
one sense—such a sense as fully meets all the exigencies of the
connexion in which it occurs. It is unsatisfactory, because on the
same principle that a second sense is brought out, it may be
maintained that a third, and even a fourth is couched under the
language; and some expositors have actually gone this length.
Beyond the meaning which is elicited by a due examination of the
language, and all the circumstances of the context, every thing
must necessarily be indeterminate and arbitrary.t. In all other
writings we expect to find one definite sense in which the authors
have designed to be understood; unless, indeed, like the heathen
oracles, what they wrote was expressly intended to be equivocal
and deceptive. And we should naturally come to the Bible under
the influence of a similar impression, were it not that we have
been taught to look for a greater fulness of meaning than the
primary interpretation seems to supply. We should expect that,

1 Potest alius aliud, et argutius fingere, et veri cum similitudine suspicari.
Potest aliud tertius ; potest aliud quartus: atque, ut se tulerint ingeniorum
opinantium qualitates, ita singule res possunt infinitis interpretationibus expli-
cari, Cum enim e rebus occlusis omnis ista, quee dicitur Allegoria, sumatur, nec
habeat finem certam, in quo rei, que dicitur, sit fixa atque immota sententia, uni-
cuique liberum est in id, quo velit, attrahere lectionum, et affirmare id positum,
a i eum sua suspicio, et conjectura opinabilis duxerit—Arnobius adversus

eves.

XXX INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION.

in revealing his will to us, God has spoken, as men speak, in a fixed
and determinate manner, and not left lis meaning to be dependent
upon the fertility or the freaks of human imagination." What is
literal we should, at once, interpret literally; and what is figurative
we should, without hesitation, interpret figuratively. To language
which describes affairs belonging to the Jews, or to other nations,
we should not scruple to give a direct historical interpretation :
whereas that which sets forth our Saviour and his kingdom, we
should confine to these sublime subjects, as the sphere to which it
exclusively belongs. It is only by such distinctive explication of
the several prophecies of Scripture, that we can shew, in a satis-
factory and convincing manner, when and how they have been
fulfilled. And the theory of a double sense is wnwarranted, there
being no Scripture authority in its favour. Whatever applications
are made by one of the Sacred Writers of what had been published
by another, whether it be for the purpose of illustration, of excite-
ment, or of confirmation, from no single passage can it be shewn
that the words, as they stand in the original author, were designed
to be taken in more meanings than one.’

One additional source of divarication in the interpretation of
prophecy to which reference must be made, is the adoption of
favourite hypotheses or systems, to which every thing is made to
bend, how far-fetched soever may be the exposition. Certain aspects
of the times; political, ecclesiastical, or party views; peculiar notions
respecting the whole scheme of prophecy, or some insulated part of
it; in short, any opinions that strongly bias the mind, and lead it
to regard all subjects only in the supposed relation in which they
stand to them, must necessarily exert a pernicious influence on pro-
phetical exegesis.

On the neologian mode of interpretation, which entirely sets
aside all prophecy strictly so called, it would be superfluous to
remark, since it can only be approved by those whose minds are

τ Absit a nobis, ut Deum faciamus δίγλωττον, aut multiplices sensus affinga-
mus ipsius verbo, in quo potius, tanquam in speculo limpidissimo, sui autoris
simplicitatem contemplari debemus. Ps. xii.7, xix.9. Unicus ergo sensus scripture,
nempe grammaticus, est admittendus, quibus demum terminis, vel propriis vel
tropicis et figuratis exprimatur.—Maresius in his Anti-Tirinus.

2 Non enim est nisi unicus Scripture sensus, a Deo illius auctore intentus,
constans, et fecundus, planus, lectorique attento, quantum ad dicendum libera-
tionis medium sufficit, obvius.—Gurtleri Instit, Theolog. pp. 16, 17.

INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. XXXl

under the unhappy influence of the same infidel principles by which
it is engendered.

Examples might have been given in illustration of the different
methods just adverted to, but they would occupy more space than
can here be afforded. The reader will find them in abundance in
almost every commentary, and in other works on prophecy.

In proceeding to interpret any prophetical book of Scripture, it
is first of all requisite to obtain a general idea of its contents: in
the abstract, in order, with greater facility, to determine the mutual
relations and bearings of its different parts. This may be done
with complete certainty, whatever obscurity may appear to rest
upon particular subjects of which it treats. Just as the traveller
from some distant position takes a survey of the region which he is
about to explore; observes its mountains, valleys, forests, rivers, &c. ;
and so determines its grand outlines, that, though many of the
objects may only be dimly seen, and he may be able to form no
proper or adequate idea of their more minute or peculiar features,
yet he gains a general notion of the country, and is prepared for the
more special investigations which he may institute in the course of
his future progress.

As few of the prophets handle only one subject, it should next
be matter of inquiry, What divisions of the book obviously present
themselves? in other words, Where are the points of transition by
which the writer passes from one subject to another? And,
whether these transitions be arbitrary; or, whether they form a
logical nexus, indicating the relation in which the subjects stand to
each other? In the latter case, the nature of the relation should be
carefully examined, and the degree of influence which may reason-
ably be assigned to it definitely ascertained.

These observations admit, indeed, of application to all the books
of Scripture, whether prophetical or otherwise; but, as those pos-
sessing the former character are confessedly the most difficult, their
special importance as bearing upon them must be apparent.

Since the style and mode of representation employed by a prophet,
as well as the selection of the subjects of which he treats, may be
expected to be more or less influenced by the circumstances in which
he was placed, the condition and relations of the people to whom
his messages were addressed, and the part which he took in the

XXxXii INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION.

direction of public affairs, an interpreter ought to make himself
well acquainted with the history of the times in which he flou-
rished. A mere glance at the references made by Isaiah to the
corruptions which abounded in the reigns of Jotham and Ahaz,
the invasions of Pekah and Rezin, of 'Tiglath-pileser, Shalmaneser,
and Sennacherib, and the alliances of the Jews with Egypt, is
sufficient to shew, that a knowledge of the periods in question,
and the circumstances connected with the political events which
then transpired, is indispensable to a just and full understanding of
his book.’

In examining the contents of the prophetical books, care must
be taken to distinguish between those parts which are simply pre-
dictive, and such as are doctrinal, or corrective of degenerate morals.
These books, and especially that of our prophet, contain not only
prophecies both of a more general and a more special nature,
but a vast variety of didactic matter, arising out of, or connected
with them, as well as numerous important practical lessons
altogether independent in their character. The prophets were
commissioned not merely to foretell the future destinies of their
nation, and of other states in their relations to it; the advent,
character, and work of the Messiah, and the establishment and
aspects of his kingdom; but to act in the capacity of extraordinary
public instructors of the people. It devolved upon them to vindi-
cate the attributes, claims, and government of Jehovah, and to
inculcate the various duties which are incumbent upon his intel-
ligent creatures, both in reference to Him and to one another.
Nowhere, except in the New Testament, is there such a fulness of
instruction on all these points as in Isaiah. In no book of Scripture
are they more distinctly or energetically enforced.

The prophecies, strictly so called, relate, some to a nearer, and
some to a more remote futurity ; some to what was to transpire in
the prophet’s own time, and some to events that were to happen
ages afterwards. Some refer to individual persons, others to par-
ticular cities, and a third class to whole nations. ΤῸ certain
subjects only a single prophecy is devoted; while others, more
important in their character, are taken up in several distinct pre-
dictions. Some are special; others are altogether general. It is

’ Dr. J. Pye Smith on the Interpretation of Prophecy, pp. 17—23, 33—39.

INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. XXXill

the duty of an interpreter to allow to each of these points of view
the degree of influence which it may claim on his attention, and
his application of the principles of exegesis.

The greatest pains should ever be taken to determine the precise
subject of a prophecy. With a view to this, its several characteris-
tic attributes should be diligently studied; the force and bearing of
the language patiently examined ; and any apparently parallel pro-
phecies carefully compared. Inattention to this rule must funda-
mentally affect the interpretation; and its neglect has, more than
any thing besides, been productive of perversion and confusion in
the exposition of prophecy.

Those predictions which relate to the Jews as a people, or to
other nations, as Babylon, Egypt, Tyre, &c., are to be restricted
in their interpretation to such nations, and are not to be applied to
the Christian church, either in her pure, or her corrupt state, nor
to the enemies of the faith and kingdom of Christ. It has, indeed,
been contended, that, as in the New Testament we find the terms
“ Jew” and “Israel” applied to the spiritual seed of Abraham,
whether naturally descended from him or not; and, as in the
Apocalypse, “Sodom,” “Egypt,” and “ Babylon,” are employed to
denote the apostate and idolatrous church of Rome, we are at full
liberty to appropriate to the times of the Christian dispensation,
whatever we may find associated with such names in the prophecies
of the Old Testament,—it being assumed, that the former were
constituted types of the latter. But it is only necessary to state in
reply, that in no part of the gospels, or the apostolical writings, is
the slightest intimation ever given, that these terms as used in the
Old Testament are to be thus taken. When applied to Christian
affairs in the New, there is always some qualifying epithet accom-
panying their use; and they are merely appropriated, in order to
bring before the mind of the reader-some points of analogy, which
might serve as apt illustrations of the subject in hand. When, for
instance, the writer of the Apocalypse employs language in appli-
cation to the spiritual Babylon which the prophets, Isaiah and
Jeremiah, apply to the literal, no hint is given that these
writers actually predicted the character and fate of the former.
He simply adopts their phraseology, and some of their modes of
representation, as well adapted to express what he had to deliver
respecting the idolatrous community, which occupies so conspicuous
a place in his book. Want of attention to this principle has, more

6

XXXIV INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION.

or less, proved a source of great error in the interpretation of Old
Testament prophecy.

This rule may be viewed as specially bearing upon such prophe-
cies, as refer to the past and future restoration of the Jews. Ex-
positors in general, without scruple or hesitation, interpret literally
those predictions which involve the punishment of that people,
such as the destruction of their city and polity, their captivity, dis-
persion, &c.; but whenever they come to those which hold out the
prospect of their conversion, re-establishment in Canaan, &c., they
almost uniformly apply them to the conversion of sinners generally,
or to the prosperity of the Christian church. But not only is such
a mode of interpretation at once unfair and inconsistent; it also
breaks up the continuity and antithetical character of many of the
prophecies, does violence to the established usage of the language,
and forces the expositor to gloss over, or to leave untouched what-
ever is opposed to his system. It is utterly subversive of all settled,
consistent, and thorough-going exposition.

In the assured conviction, based upon the testimony of Jesus.and
his inspired Apostles,! that the Jewish prophets actually predicted
his manifestation, character, work, and kingdom, every Christian
interpreter will diligently mark and investigate those portions of
the prophecies which are obviously designed to be thus applied.
While some have found Christ almost every where in the propheti-
cal and other books of the Old Testament, and others have mani-
fested a reluctance to find him any where, the enlightened and
conscientious believer is anxious to discover him precisely with that
degree of frequency with which the Holy Spirit has really pre-
sented him to the view. While he rejoices at every thing which
reminds him of Him who ‘is the end of the law for righteousness
to every one that believeth,” his mind instinctively revolts from the
idea of laying violent hands upon a single passage of Scripture, in
order to force it to give testimony to him. Numerous are those
passages which admit of no consistent application to any merely
human king or deliverer, or to the affairs of any temporal and
earthly kingdom, but point out a Divine Saviour, and the establish-
ment of an order of things purely spiritual and heavenly. Of
these, Isaiah vii. 14—16, ix. 6, 7, xi. 1—10, xxxii. 1, &e., xlil.
xlix. 1—9, lii. 13, liii. xi. 1—3, are illustrious specimens. If we

1 Luke xxiv. 25—27, 44—47; John xii. 87—41; Acts viii. 30—35, x. 43,
EXvi, 22, 28; Rom: iii. 21; 22; 1 Pet. i, 11; 12; Rev. xix. 10.

INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. XXXV

have not, in every case, the infallible support of New Testament
authority, we nevertheless meet with certain intimations and cha-
racteristics in the predictions themselves, or in their immediate
connexion, which compel us to refer them immediately and directly
to the New Dispensation.

The language of prophecy, being in many respects peculiar,
requires to be studied with great care, and to be interpreted with
the utmost sobriety and caution. Besides much that is simple and
plain, it exhibits most of the characteristics belonging to .the
highest species of Oriental poetry: abounding in pictorial, figura-
tive, metaphorical, symbolical, and parabolical modes of representa-
tion. Its imagery is luxuriant, bold, sublime, glowing, and highly
coloured. Its figures are of every variety. Its metaphors, elegant
and beautiful, are borrowed from almost every object within the
compass of the visible and invisible worlds. Its symbols are
splendid, striking, and sometimes terrific. Its personifications are
daring and majestic. Its whole strain is admirably adapted to
excite attention, create and keep alive an interest in the subjects,
and to produce those impressions which are in harmony with its
nature and design. It is likewise remarkable for its concinnity,
terseness, and brevity, its bold ellipses, and the frequent abrupt
changes of person, gender, and tense. With all these particulars,
the interpreter must render himself familiar, He must not only
investigate the primary and secondary significations of words, deter-
mine the meaning of the phrases, the nature of the syntax, and the
development of the entire sense, but distinguish between the plain
and the figurative in the style,—divesting what is figurative of the
imagery with which it is adorned, and thus bringing out the simple
ideas designed to be conveyed; yet, withal, paying due attention to
the emphasis or force given to them by such figurative diction.
And, in order that he may do this with the greater certainty, he
must take his position in the midst of the same world of poetic
images in which the prophets lived, and make himself master of the
entire system of prophetic imagery which they have employed.

It is a principle satisfactorily brought out by a careful examina-
tion of the prophecies, that an interpreter is not, on the one hand,
to expect every thing to be expressed with the utmost clearness,
nor, on the other, to regard it as involved in dense obscurity,
Unhappily they have too often been viewed in one or other of
these extremes. ΤῸ some minds, they body forth, in clear and

XXXVI INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION.

living forms, all the minute details of modern history, as well as
develop, without the slightest trace of a cloud, the entire horizon
of antiquity; while to others they are shrouded in impenetrable
mystery,—to be approached with no hopes of the successful dis-
covery of truth; or, at best, only to catch a dim and momentary
glance of it, amidst the shadowy figures by which it is surrounded.

Much of the obscurity which has been ascribed to prophecy is
purely subjective. It exists, not in the predictions themselves,
but in those who come to the study of them. If we have not ren-
dered ourselves familiar with the characteristics of the prophetic
style, the history of the times, the manners, customs, and modes of
thinking of Oriental nations, and a variety of other topics which
such study requires, it is vain to expect that all should be per-
spicuous and plain. Numerous terms, phrases, and allusions, which
must have been perfectly intelligible to those whom the prophets
addressed, will necessarily appear obscure to us. Nor can it be
denied, that such prophecies as still remain to be fulfilled, must, in
the nature of things, be more or less indistinct, as it respects the
objects of which they treat, how clear or plain soever may be the
language in which they are expressed. Take, for instance, the
fifty-third of Isaiah. To us who have the advantage of studying it
by the light of the evangelic pages, all possesses the perspicuity of
history ; but in the view of those who lived before the birth of our
Lord, there must have attached to some parts of it a want of that
definiteness of meaning which we so readily discover. Thus also as
it regards certain portions of the Apocalypse. How far, or satis-
factorily soever we may succeed in determining the import of the
language, or however clearly we may perceive the design of the
writer, just as we may conclude from the sketch of a drawing, what
it is intended to represent, yet the absence of the actual persons or
events leaves our minds in uncertainty with respect to the positive
application. Let only those persons or events present themselves
in the reality of historical existence, and we fully discover the
import of the prophecy.

Finally: no person should attempt the interpretation of these
hallowed records, who is not imbued with a supreme love of truth,
and who is not habituated to the exercise of humble dependence
upon the promised assistance of the Holy Spirit, whose it is to
remove those moral obstacles which prevent the entrance of spiritual
light into the mind.

ΣΎ ΟΝ ot ck.

CHAPTER I.

This chapter contains an historical introduction, 1; a heavy charge of ingrati-
tude, corruption, and rebellion, 2—4; a description of the consequent
punishment, 5—9; an exposure of the vanity of trusting in mere external
worship, 10—15 ; exhortations and encouragements to repentance, 16—19 ;
with denunciations of wrath against the impenitent, mixed with promises

to the penitent, 20—31.

1 THE vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, which he saw, con-
cerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham,
Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

1. The substantive jin, like its cog-
nates Mit, ni, nw, WT, MM, and the
Chald. 3, 817, is derived from the root
_ m7, which, in poetic style, is used to
denote seeing or vision generally, but
more especially that which is super-
natural, or the result of Divine inspira-
tion. It corresponds to the prosaic 783,
which equally denotes both kinds of
vision : hence the easy transition from
mi, the name anciently given to the
prophets, 1 Sam. ix. 9, to 717, 1 Chron.
xxix. 29, where both names are evi-
dently synonymous with &2}. x7, and
my, the LXX. render by ὀπτασία,
ὅραμα, ὅρασις ; and the former by προ-
φητεία, 2 Chron. xxxii. 32 ; to which
correspond 781123 of the Targum, and a
similar rendering in the Syr. Arab.
and several modern versions. The

Arab. usy> > divinavit, hariolatus

fuit, especially by observing the flight
of birds, yzarus fuit rei, occulta indi-
cavit, are unquestionably related to
the Hebrew, and their significations
are probably derived from it; but
though they may be applied in illus-
tration, they cannot take precedence

of the Hebrew root. Nothing can be
more obvious than the reason of the
appropriation of such terms in de-
scriptions of supernatural or prophe-
tic revelation. It is founded on the
fact, that, in imparting his will to his
messengers, Jehovah impressed vividly
upon their minds, the images of the
things which they were to divulge.
Their mental vision had presented to
it matters invisible to the eye of sense,
but possessing all the reality and dis-
tinctness of outward objects. The
term is here employed to denote, not
the act of seeing on the part of the
prophet, but the things which he saw
—the prophetic matter revealed to
him, together with all the other
inspired matter contained in the
book.

Whether ji is here to be taken
strictly in the singular, and limited to
the first division or chapter of the
book, or, whether it is to be viewed as
a collective noun marking the contents
of the whole, depends on the light in
which we are to regard the entire in-
scription. Jarchiand Abarbanel, by a
forced construction of x with ww,

2 ISATAH.

[CHAP. I.

2 Hear, O heavens, and hearken, O earth!

For Jehovah speaketh ;

I have nourished and brought up children,
But as for them—they have rebelled against me.

instead of referring it to ὑπ, to which
it properly belongs, suppose it to de-
signate only the first chapter ; but it
is quite incongruous to imagine that
so small a portion required the reigns
of four kings for its delivery. Vitringa,
Eichhorn, Rosenmiiller, and Maurer,
are of opinion that the original in-
scription ended with the word o7d™ ;
that it had relation only to the first
chapter ; that after the death of the
prophet, when his oracles were col-
lected, this one was placed first to
serve as a title and introduction to the
whole book; and that the specification
of the kings was then added to com-
plete the inscription, by assigning the
period of the prophet’s ministry. This
solution Lowth pronounces to be judi-
cious ; and Gesenius allows it to be
ingenious, though he is not quite
satisfied with it. Le Clerc, Michaelis,
Hitzig, Scholz, J. A. Alexander, and
Schroeder, in MS., consider it to be
the original inscription to the whole.
That it was thus understood by the
author of the second book of Chro-
nicles is beyond all doubt. His words
are, “Now the rest of the acts of
Hezekiah, and his goodness, behold
they are written in the vision of
Isaiah, the son of Amoz,” ch. xxxii.
32,—the identical terms of our text.
Rosenmiiller, Eichhorn, and Koppe,
endeavour, indeed, to enervate this
proof by rendering ja “ together with
the vision,” &c., and confining it to
the portion contained in ch. xxxvi—
xxxix.; but Gesenius has shewn, that
their argument founded on the use of
2” after 1n2 is groundless, since this
verb is also frequently construed with
a, and that it is more natural to under-
stand the reference to be to a definite
collection of prophecies, in which, as
well as in the book of Kings, the
accounts of Hezekiah were to be found.
I accede, therefore, to the opinion of
the interpreters mentioned above, who
view the words as the inscription of
the whole collection.

Isaiah, the son of Amoz. See Introd.

Dwr», LXX. and Theodion
kara, Symm. περὶ, as the LXX. have ©
rendered this preposition, chap. ii. 1,
where Symmachus employs ὑπὲρ ; Je-
rome szper. Were the denunciations
immediately following, alone intended,
the adverse meaning would be proper ;
butif reference is had to the contents
of the book generally, the preposition
must be rendered concerning ; and it is
thus given by the best interpreters.
The circumstance, that predictions
affecting other nations besides the
Jews are found in the book, forms no
valid objection against such construc-
tion: whatever relates to them being
introduced on account of its intimate
bearing upon the interests of that
people. By Judah and Jerusalem are
meant the Jewish state, or the two
tribes of Judah and Benjamin, usually
comprehended under the former name;
and the inhabitants of the metropolis
in particular—the centre of the king-
dom, and the great source of religious
and political influence. Sometimes we
find the inverse order of the words:
mM) ow, as chap. iii. 1 ; v.3; Ezra
11. 1, ὅσο, ; but both forms are opposed
to Hphraim and Samaria.

mim %272—32. See Introd.

2. PIN—DY, τὰ πάντα, the universe.
A splendid instance of poetical apo-
strophe. All created beings, whether
rational or irrational, are summoned
to listen to the charge to be preferred
by Jehovah against his rebellious and
ungrateful people. The words of the
prophet, and those of Moses, Deut.
xxxii. 1, are strikingly parallel. Nor is
the parallelism of the subjects less
complete—the manifestation of the
Divine goodness, and the ingratitude
of the Hebrews, its recipients ; and it
is not without reason Calvin conjec-
tures, that there is an imitation of the
celebrated song of theJewish legislator,
whom all the prophets took for their
model. ‘Tesaias hic Mosen imitatus
est, sicuti mos est omnibus prophetis.”

CHAP. 1.]

3 The ox knoweth his owner,
And the ass his master’s erib :
But Israel doth not know ;
My people doth not consider!

The position of Vitringa, which has
been adopted by Lowth, Gesenius, and
others, that God here institutes a
judicial proceeding, and that heaven
and earth are addressed as judges in
the cause, is scarcely in keeping with
the point and vehemence of the per-
sonification. The spirit of the passage
is more in accordance with that of
Jer. ii. 12,13. To supply 75 sic before
727, as some propose, would, in such
connexion, detract from the dignity of
the style, and be quite abhorrent from
the wsus loquendi which connects 75
with Vox, never with 127. The change
of 127 into 735 is equally unjustifiable.
Comp. Ps. 1.1. Coverdale renders it
in the present tense, which ought to
have been retained in our common
version.—0’2a, The Hebrews are fre-
quently spoken of as the sons of God,
partly to indicate the relation in which
they stood to him in virtue of the
Sinaic covenant, by which the nation
solemnly acknowledged him to be her
husband ; and partly to suggest the
idea of paternal and filial love. Comp.
Exod. iv. 22; Deut. xxxii. 5, 6 ; Hos.
xi. 1; Mal.i. 2, 6. This relationship
is recognised by Paul, Rom. ix. 4,
where he ascribes υἱοθεσία to the Is-
raelites. While other nations were
ou, ver. 7, the former stood in this
near relation to Jehovah, and were
treated accordingly, both in the way
of kindness and of chastisement. The
verbs *‘mN27) ἘΣ are thus joined, chap.
xxiil. 4; Ezek. xxxi.4; and, what is
remarkable, they occur in the same
order, as the proper names (M772
ἜΣ ΠΌΤ) of two of the sons of Heman,
1 Chron. xxv. 4, 29, 31. Such occur-
rence confirms the opinion of Kimchi,
that they are perfectly synonymous,
and shews the fallacy of Vitringa’s
interpretation, according to which the
former verb signifies to educate, and
the latter fo evalt; as if they referred
to certain distinct periods in the his-
tory of the Hebrews. Such synonymic
combinations are common in the lan-

ISAIAH.

Oo

guage, and are employed for the sake
of intensity. God had exercised the
greatest care over his people; he had
conferred upon them a profusion of
benefits. No father could have con-
ducted himself so attentively -and
kindly in the education of his children.
—1 wee, they have rebelled against me,
may be extended so as to comprehend
idolatry, and very often has this mean-
ing; but it also expresses defection
from Jehovah in any way, only that
it be atrocious in degree. In this con-
nexion, it naturally suggests the idea
of filial disobedience : though, in a theo-
cratic point of view, it was strictly

rebellion. Like its cognates ee
: ᾽
abscidit, dirupit ; ἜΣ a Deo pre-

seriptum agendi modum reliquit, et a vero

et justo defecit, as pl we es? or

a) improbus, nequam, it signifies ¢o

break, break up a connexion, break off
Jrom any one ; hence the form N77) ws,
2 Kings viii. 20, 22, to revolt from
under the power of another ; and with
3, and ὅν, when the idea of hostility is
designed to be marked. From the
violence which it implies, Y¢® is one
of the strongest terms employed in
Heb. to denote sin.

3. To aggravate the stupidity of the
Hebrews, two of the tame animals are
introduced, which, though proverbial
for their dulness and inattention,
nevertheless discover an instinctive
regard for their master, and the place
where they are fed. Comp. Jer, viii. 7.
Dix some render sfa//; but it rather
denotes the crib in which the fodder
is placed, being derived from D:2x, to
feed ; Arab. ual collegit rem ; cl ,
qui ornat atrium, instruitque cibo suo et
potu. Thus Kimchi ; nvana7 2x0 O19 ;
LXX. φάτνη ; Vulg. presepe. Lowth
attempts unsuccessfully to shew, that
‘mix, me, has been lost out of the text

4 ISATAH.

[CHAP. I.

4 Wo to the sinful nation! the people laden with guilt!
The race of evil-doers! corrupt children !

They have forsaken Jehovah ;

One of Israel;
They have wholly gone back.

after ‘xt. The word is, indeed,
supplied in the LXX. and Vulg., and
pov in Aquila and Theodion ; but these
versions merely fill up what was
deemed an ellipsis. The insertion of
1 before the same word is equally with-
out authority from Heb. MSS., though
found in the LXX., Syr., Aq., Theod.,
and Vulg. It is found before ‘sy in
about thirty MSS., but this also may
be merely the result of emendation.
The history of the Hebrew text
evinces that this conjunction was
more likely to be added than omitted
—owing chiefly to inattention to one
of the distinctive features of poetry,
the frequent ellipsis of conjunctions,
&c. in the second member of a paral-
lelism. 421277 heightens the idea ex-
pressed in the preceding clause, and
is designed to develop more clearly
the guilty want of discrimination on
the part of the Hebrews. That "τὴ"
is to be understood of the whole
people, and not, as some would limit
it, of the Jews only, appears from the
fact, that it is never used in this
limited sense by any prophet who
wrote before the captivity.

4, Τὴ ἦλ %7 Gesenius discovers a pa-
ronomasia which he imitates in—
Schande dem siindigen Lande; but the
assonance is perhaps purely acci-
dental. The interjection is most com-
monly used in comminations, and is
evidently to be so taken here, som,
The participle expresses habit : s¢xning
nation ; a nation addicted to deviation
from the path of rectitude. 732 is not
a segolate noun, as Jarchi takes it, but
a construct form of the adjective 729,
as is proved by the analogy of 7px, Jy.
The LXX. change the figure of a bur-
den, which most naturally conveys the
notion of the oppressive property of
guilt, and the unsupportable punish-
ment which it entails, into that of an
element with which the subjects of
iniquity are filled: λαὸς πληρὴς apap-

they have contemned the Holy

τιῶν. They also weaken the force of
Py, though they render it by the plural
of ἁμαρτία, the term more appropri-
ately expressive of 78en. Both signify
the missing of a mark, deviation from the
right way: whereas 2 denotes perver-
sity, that which is distorted, crooked,
or turned away from its proper posi-
tion or direction. Root my; Arab.

use in latus inflexit rem, torsit, dis-

torsit, &c., to twist, bend, make crooked,
distort,—OYY2 YY, is not to be under-
stood with any reference to the pro-
genitors of the Hebrews, though the
character too aptly applies to the great
body of the nation, in almost every
period of its history, but marks that
of those who lived in the time of
Isaiah. Thus, as to sense, the LXX.
σπέρμα πονηρόν. The phrase, as Theo-
doret remarks, has its parallel in
γεννήματα ἐχιδνῶν, Matt. 111, 7, and in
sense, though not in form, in γενεὰ
πονηρὰ καὶ μοιχαλὶς, Matt. xii. 39.
oy Hiph. part. of ȴ3, to crash, break,
hurt, do evil, commit injury. Hence YYD,
an injurious person, an evil-doer.—There
is no necessity, with Lowth, to con-
vert DTW into MNT, the part. of
Hoph. The difference of pronuncia-
tion is too great, and the circumstance,
that five MSS. omit the ’ is of no con-
sequence, as this apocopated form of
the conjugation is of frequent oc-
currence. Comp. 2 Chron, xxvii. 2.
Zwinglius: “corrumpere facientes,
ponuntur pro tam corruptis ut alios
corrumpere possint, hoc est pro per-
ditissimis et corruptissimis.” The
active participle may be understood
either in a transitive or intransitive
sense, according as we take it abso-
lutely, or supply 592, or 037], after it.
If the former, the passage may be
rendered corrupting, or destructive
children ; if the latter, vicious chil-
dren, 7.e. such as act corruptly, or
viciously, The LXX. ἄνομοι; the

CHAP. I.]

ISAIAH.

Or

5 Why will ye be further smitten ?

Why will ye increase revolt ?
The whole head is sick,
And the whole heart faint.

others, διαφθείροντες. Y, Arab Sad

procul fuit, abfuit, procul evagatus fuit
pascendo camelus, vesperi non revertens :
to run away, as camels, horses, &c. from
their master. The Heb. verb also sig-
nifies to loosen the bands or cords by
which beasts of burden are fastened.
See Exod. xxiii. 5, and Gesen. in loc.
It is frequently used of a dereliction
of Jehovah. fs}, in addition to the
idea of leaving, conveyed by XY, ex-
presses the contemptuous feeling in
which it originated, and an obstinate
determination to persevere in a course
of disobedience— x7 wip, the Holy
One of Israel, i.e. the Sacred Object of
their veneration and love ; the infinite
source of purity; the hater and
avenger of all moral pollution. The
genitive is that of simple relationship,
not strictly that of subject ; for, while
the Jews in the time of the prophet
professed to serve Jehovah, or to have
him for their God, they were, for the
most part, destitute of the feelings
which his character was calculated to
inspire. If they had truly regarded
him as “the Holy One,” they could
not have acted the part here ascribed
to them. The use of this epithet is
almost exclusively confined to Isaiah ;
occurring nearly thirty times in the
course of his prophecies, but only five
times besides in the whole Bible. It
thus forms one of the distinguishing
characteristics of his style, and fur-
nishes strong evidence in favour of
the genuineness of the entire book.—
1432, Niph. of 13, a synonyme of 0
and »D, the latter of which likewise
takes We after it. All three verbs
signify to turn away, recede, or depart
Jrom, and are especially employed to
designate apostasy from God. Ps. liii.
43; xiv.3; xliv.19; Zeph. i. 6. Niph.
is frequently reciprocal, and seems to
have this force in the present instance.
The addition of mx gives emphasis to
the declaration. Aq. and Theod.

render: ἀπηλλοτριώθησαν εἰς τὰ ὀπί-

ow; but ™ has the signification of
“ strange ” only in the _ participial
forms %and WW». In reference to the
peculiar character of the prophet’s
style in this verse, Zwinglius asks:
“ Quis oro Demosthenes aut Cicero
tam brevibus omnia perfecit et adpa-
ravit, ut ad summam rei cum tanta
opportunitate tantoque decoro perve-
nerit Ῥ’ Comment. in loc.

5. πιο-ποῦν, Misled by a false
construction of the following context,
Jerome, Lowth, Gesenius, and many
moderns, translate “on what part,”
and fortify their rendering by the
classical parallels :—

Vix habet in vobis jam nova plaga locum.
Ovip.
Γέμω κακῶν δὴ κ᾽ οὐκέτ᾽ ἐσθ᾽ ὅπη τιθῇ.
Evrip.
But, such construction, however ap-
propriately it may seem to agree with
the totally diseased state of the body,
spoken of immediately afterwards, ill
accords with the introduction of the
verb ἘΠ, which requires the repe-
tition of ποῦν, of which there is an
evident ellipsis. The phrase has doubt-
less the local meaning, Job xxxviii. 6,
and 2 Chron. xxxii. 10; but every-
where else, that of why? wherefore ?
The interpretation of Lowth, “on
what part will ye smite again ; will ye
add correction ?”—applying the lan-
guage to the persons who were the
instruments of God’s vengeance, is a
complete failure, and spoils the force
of the original, in which there is a
sudden and spirited transition from
the third person to the second, for
the purpose of producing poignant
conviction by a direct address. No-
thing, indeed, can be more tame than
the introduction of a third party.—
m7D, as a fem. noun, from “0, occurs
in the sense of defection from Jeho-
vah, Deut. xiii. 6; Jer. xxviii. 16,
xxix. 32; Isa. xxxi. 6, lix. 13; in the
two last of which passages, the Bishop
himself renders it “revolt ;” so that

A

6 ISAIAH.

[CHAP. I.

6 From the sole of the foot even to the head,

There is no soundness in it ;

But wounds, and stripes, and fresh sores ;
They have not been pressed, nor bound up,

Nor softened with oil.

7 As for your country—it is desolate ;

Your cities are burnt with fire ;

As for your land—foreigners devour it in your presence ;
It is desolate—a land overthrown by foreigners.

his attempt to trace it analogically to
1D’, was unnecessary. Besides, there
is no such derivation from this root
in Hebrew usage, its only derivative
being 1019, which frequently occurs.
The address is not without irony ;
proceeding on the principle, that the
Jews had revolted, in order that they
might be punished: while it is strongly
implied, that their continuance in sin
would only increase their punishment.
Winer and Hitzig render %, distribu-
tively, —“ every head” and “ every
heart,’—on the ground that it is
anarthrous; but the omission of the
article is not unfrequent in poetic and
prophetic composition. See Gesen.
Lehrg. ὃ 168, 3, «β. The 2 in such con-
struction, denotes state or condition.
The two noblest parts of the human
body are here selected to represent
the body politic; and the extreme
danger to which it was exposed is sig-
nificantly set forth under the image of
universal sickness and languor. There
was no part which did not suffer from
the calamities which sin had entailed.
The allegation of this passage, in
proof of the doctrine of original sin,
or of the total depravity of human
nature, is totally unwarranted by any
just principle of Biblical interpreta-
tion. It does not, as Calvin ably
shews, refer to sin at all, but to its
punishment.

6. An affecting amplification of the
preceding description. ‘3 ἐμ if, i.e.
ἡ nation, or DY people, understood from
ver. 4—the subject of which the figu-
rative language is used being thus
graphically pointed at. Not only was
the body covered with different kinds
of wounds, but some of them were

quite fresh, and no means had been
applied to heal them. The verbs here
employed are not designed to corre-
spond to the preceding nouns taken
singly—as if they described different
modes of treatment appropriate to
the different wounds: yet, as 7% and
wa are in the plural, and 723 is in
the singular, it properly belongs to
m7 72, while the former refer to P33
and 7yaT in common. 1 is the plural
of τ, to press, press out, as blood and
other matter from wounds. The pro-
cess in healing a wound was first to
mollify or soften it with oil, or other
ointment; then to press out the
matter which had collected in it ; and
finally, to bind it with a bandage
steeped in oiland wine. Comp. Luke
x. 34; Pliny, Hist. Nat. xxxi. 47;
Columella, vii. 5, 18.

7. The prophet now proceeds to
announce in plain and express terms,
what he had just delivered in figura-
tive language. This most graphic de-
scription of the desolations occasioned
by hostile invaders. applies to the
state of the Jewish affairs, when the
country was overrun by the Israelites
and Syrians on the one hand, and the
Edomites and Philistines on the other,
—a calamity that threatened the en-
tire subversion of the kingdom, in the
reign of Ahaz. See 2 Kings xvi. 5, 6;
2 Chron, xxvii. 5—8, 17, 18 ; Isa. vii.
1,2. Lowth and De Wette refer the
invasion here described to the reign
of Jotham ; Rosenmiiller, after Abar-
banel, Cocceius, and Grotius, to that
of Uzziah ; while Jarchi, Vitringa, and
Eichhorn, consider the events to have
taken place in the days of Hezekiah.
The historical circumstances, how-

CHAP. 1.]

ISATAH. 7

8 And the daughter of Zion is left,

Like a shed in a vineyard,

Like a booth in a cucumber field,

Like a besieged city.

ever, more or less militate against an

other interpretation than that whic

places this extreme national distress
in the time of Ahaz,—the most cor-
rupt monarch that had yet ascended
the throne of David. See Gesen. i. p.
147. 7 78 is used in this place, both
for the cultivated land and its pro-
duce, or the fruits which grew upon it.
Hence it is said to be eaten by the
invaders, and to be burnt with fire.
According to Kimchi, it signifies
DNR AVI nw, “sown fields and
the trees belonging to them.” For 03,
“barbarians,” Lowth proposes to read,
Du, “an inundation,”’—a translation
which is countenanced by Saadias,

ἜΝ keh , schultens, who com-

pares the Arab. Sad » Michaelis, Dee-

derlein, Hensler, and others ; but itis
otherwise unsupported, unnecessary,
and, as Calvin calls it, coactum. 1s
the participle of 1, ¢o be strange, to act
hostilely, and signifies a barbarian, or
a foreign enemy. The 3 prefixed to
n2B79, is the Caph veritatis, or of inten-
siveness, Which marks the reality or
superlative degree of the quality pre-
dicated. The words, therefore, contain
no comparison ; but express the great-
ness of the catastrophe :—an over-
throw, such as only barbarians could
effect. The LXX. render properly:
kal ἠρήμωται κατεστραμμένη ὑπὸ λαῶν
ἀλλοτρίων.

8. ΤῈ 73, daughter of Zion ; a poetic
Hebraism for Zion herself. m3, like
023, sons, is sometimes used to denote
the inhabitants of a city or country,
as wun na, chap. xxiii. 10; 17a, Ps,
xly. 13; O78 na. Lam. iv. 22; but it
is also often transferred to designate
the city or country itself. “ Prosopo-
peice idiotismus est Hebreeorum, quo
urbes et municipia foeminarum, aut
filiarum periphrasi adpellant.” Zwin-
hus, . Thus, 73 ma, Ps, cxxxvil. 8.
This idiom, under various modifica-
tions, is exceedingly common in Ara-

maic. Comp. the use of Wo), el wh
and «wy, in Arab. ; and of 3, ox,

and 73,in Heb. In poetry, Zion is fre-
quently put for Jerusalem, of which
it formed the most ancient part, and
formed the southernmost and highest
of the hills on which the city was
built. The name is derived from ΠΗ͂Σ,
to be bright, sunny, dry; and seems
rather to have obtained the designa-
tion from its shining aspect, than from
any supposed barrenness or aridity.
At all events, in the present day, it is
not unfruitful; for Dr. Richardson
found one part of it supporting a crop
of barley, and another undergoing the
labour of the plough; and Mr. Carne
mentions a crop of corn as growing on
its sides. See Horne’s Introd. vol. iii.
p. 19, note. To depict the exact posi-
tion of the metropolis, as standing
alone in the midst of surrounding ruin
and desolation, the prophet employs
three appropriate comparisons. The
first is that of a single booth or hut,
constructed of the boughs and small
branches of trees, usually erected in a
vineyard for the shelter of persons
stationed to protect the grapes from
the attacks of thieves, foxes, &c. The
second refers to a similar hut or lodge
in the midst of a field appropriated to
the growing of cucumbers, which is
the only object visible at any distance,
and is often attached to the highest
part of a pole or tree, in order to
afford security from the wild beasts by
night. See chap. xxiv. 20. πῦρ, for

mapa, Arab. $a, a place of cucum-
bers,—properly, the Egyptian melon ;
owe, Numb. xi.5; Arab. (is, rasvt,
decorticavit. Comp.(43, idem. They

are longer than the common cucum-
ber, of a deeper green, a softer and
smoother skin, sweeter, and more easy
of digestion ; being very cooling, they

8 ISAIAH.

[CHAP. 1.

9 Except Jehovah of Hosts had left us a very small remnant,
We should have been like Sodom,
We should have resembled Gomorrah.

are greatly in request. Hitzig. The
third object of comparison is 712} TY,
which has been variously interpreted.
Not satisfied with the ordinary signi-
fication of YY, Scheid. and Tingstadius
derive it from VY, to watch, and render,
“a tower” or “ watch-tower in a gar-

den ;” (yd in Arab. signifying hortum.)

This interpretation is partly adopted
by Hitzig ; only he considers the YY to
be a place of shelter, and supposes a
tower to be meant, such as is common
in oriental villages, from which a view
is commanded of the surrounding
country, and into which the inha-
bitants retreat on the approach of
enemies. 7932 he takes to be a noun,
formed like 7y128, Ayw, ὅσο. This would
be philologically unobjectionable, were
it supported by usage ; and his trans-
lation, “as a tower of observation,”
well suits the connexion, The inter-
pretation, however, which derives 712}
from 12}, in the acceptation of hostile
watching or besieging, (it being then
the regular past part,) is to be pre-
ferred, not only to the above modes of
elucidation, but also to that of “a
preserved” or “delivered city,” pro-
posed by Michaelis, and adopted by
Koppe, Rosenmiiller, J. Moller, and
approved by Gesenius in his Com-
ment. but abandoned in his Lex. Man.
in which he renders, wrbs obsessa. With
this last interpretation agree the LXX.
Chal. and Syr. and it is fully sup-
ported by the Ben. part. O23, being
used to denote desiegers, Jer. iv. 16.
The version of Lowth, “taken by
siege,’ has no other countenance than
the rendering of the Vulg. ; the πολιορ-
κουμένη of the LXX. to which the
Bishop appeals, expressing simply the
fact, that the siege was being carried
on, not that the city had been taken,
which would have ill accorded with
the idea of the prophet. Jerusalem
itself not having been actually be-
sieged on the occasion here referred
to, however threatened with such a
calamity by the surrounding enemies,

might well be compared to a city in
such circumstances.

9. 2, except, compounded of %, i/,
and Ὁ, for οἷ, zof—msiz Tim, Jehovah
of hosts. This divine appellation ap-
pears first to have come into use in
the time of Samuel, in whose books it
frequently occurs, as it does also in
those of Kings, the Psalms, and most
of the minor prophets, but with un-
usual frequency in Isaiah, Jeremiah,
and Zechariah. See Buxt. Concord.
The position of Lowth, Hitzig, and

others, that 5 mm is an ellipsis for
ΓΊΝΩ ox m7, is overturned by the
simple fact, that Ov7>x itself, as a pro-
per name, is likewise exhibited in the
absolute, and not in the construct
form, which we should otherwise have
expected: Ps. lix. 6; Ixxx. 5,8, 15, 20;
Ixxxiv. 9. To elude the difficulty, in
this case, it has been proposed to sup-

of the form 8 m7, together with the
circumstance, that other instances of
proper names in a state of construc-
tion occur, it is preferable to regard
such forms as relics of a ruder and
more primitive usage, as 123 DPX, 2
Kings iii. 4; yo) ov, Isa. xxx. 20;
nox oor, Jer. x. 10. (Ewald, § 515.)

ff
The combination, $ wx TIM, occurs
only once in Isaiah, and a few times in
Jeremiah. A still fuller form, how-
ever, is employed by Amos, iii. 13 ;
MNT ox AP 2. Aq. κύριος στρα-
recov ; Symm. δυνάμεων. The LXX.
in Isaiah uniformly render, κύριος
σαβαώθ; in the other books, κύριος
παντοκράτωρ, is the phrase chiefly em-
ployed. Both forms are copied in the
N. T. The title imports the supre-
macy of Jehovah over the angels and
all the planetary systems, and seems
to have been designed to vindicate to
him the honours which were idola-
trously paid to the heavenly bodies,
by those, who on this account, were

called by the Arabs, we Sabii,

CHAP. I.]

ISAIAH. 9

10 Hear the word of Jehovah, ye judges of Sodom!
Hearken to the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah !
11 What is the multitude of your sacrifices to me? saith Jehovah.
I am satiated with burnt-offerings of rams,
And with the fat of fed beasts :
And in the blood of bullocks, and of lambs, and of goats,

I take no delight.

12 When ye come to appear before me,
Who hath required you to tread my courts ?

i.e. worshippers of the celestial hosts.
Michaelis, Suppl. ad Lex. Heb. No.
2107. The >in OY) is intensive.

10. The prophet having finished his
picture of the deplorably reduced cir-
cumstances of the Jews, avails himself
of the allusion which he had made to
Sodom and Gomorrah in the preceding
verse in order to apply the subject
with more point to his auditors. By
a spirited apostrophe, he invests them
with the character which they had
been accustomed to regard as peculiar
to the abandoned inhabitants of those
cities. Their guilt was great, and
merited condign punishment. Comp.
Jer, xxiii. 14 - Matt. xi. 23, 24; Ezek.
xvi. 48; Rey. xi. 8.—7z?, a magistrate

or judge. Arab. oh, kadi. Gesenius

appropriately quotes here the Arabic
proverb :—

pre 28 ure ye
“More unjust than a judge of Sodom.”

721 and ΠῚ occur often, as here, for
divine doctrine or instruction in
general. The latter word is derived
from ΠῚ), to throw, throw out the hand ;
in Hiph. to point, guide, direct.

11. From this verse, to the 15th
inclusive, the Jews are taught the
spiritual import of the ™in, daw, to
which their attention had just been
called, ver. 10 ; and the inconsistency,
inutility, and guilt of occupying them-
selves with external forms of religion,
while they evinced no true penitence,
or moral reformation, are strikingly
pressed upon them. Comp. 1 Sam.
xv. 22; Ps. 1. 7—15; Amos v. 21—24,
The reference in 0273ry) is not so

much, perhaps, to the numerous sacri-
fices prescribed in the Mosaic insti-
tute, as to the voluntary multiplication
of them by the Jews, in the time of
the prophet, with a view to avert the
Divine wrath. According to Josephus,
the number of lambs of one year old,
sacrificed at the Passover only, under
Cestius, amounted to 256,500. The
mas. gender is observed throughout
the enumeration, in strict accordance
with the command, that the animals
for sacrifice should all be males.
Levit. i. 3, 10.

12. 22 τιν, contracted for*227ny Γῆν τ᾽,
to present or make one s-self visible before
God ; i.e. in the temple, the residence "
of his glory. The naked form, *3, is
precisely that which occurs Exod. xxiii.
15 ; where it is first ordained that the
Israelites should present themselves
with gifts and sacrifices at the three
great festivals, and is that used by
David, in reference to his appearing
in the temple, Ps. xlii. 3. 2578 and
Ox are otherwise employed. One
MS. reads nis}, ¢o see, but erroneously,
though not on the ground assigned by
Gesenius, that the phrase, seeing God,
as Ps. xi. 7; xvii. 15, cannot well be
understood, except of the beatific
vision ; for the Psalmist indisputably
uses it, when speaking of his beholding
the glory of God in the temple, Ps.
lxili, 2—o3, lit. from your hand, a
common Hebraism after verbs of de-
manding, to express from you: the

-pronoun here is emphatic.—0d), fo

tread,—a term of contempt purposely
borrowed from the action of the cattle
brought into the outer court for sacri-
fice. The attendance of the Jews in
the other court was, in a spiritual
point of view, no better.

10

18 Bring no more vain oblation ;

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. I.

Incense is an abomination to me,
The new-moon also, the sabbath, and the calling of assemblies ;
I cannot endure wickedness, and days of restraint.

14
They are a burden upon me ;
I am weary of bearing them.
15

Your new-moons and your stated festivals my soul hateth ;

When also ye spread open your hands,

I will hide mine eyes from you ;

13. XY in ΝΥ ΤΠ) may refer either
to the worthlessness and inutility of
the oblations presented, or to the in-
sincerity of the worshippers. The
one is indeed included in the other ;
but the latter idea seems better to
accord with the spirit of the passage.
— 78 is supposed by some to be an
ellipsis of nev? °nx ; but >, related as
it is to 3, to hold, contain, signifies
by itself, to dear or endure, Ps. ci. 5.
xq NP, lit. fo call a convocation, not
“to read the Scripture,” as some have
thought. The form, however, is the
infin. constr. and must be rendered
by the calling of. The phrase is founded
on the circumstance of certain solemn
feasts having been ushered in by public
proclamation. Though 8772, and the
two preceding substantives, are masc.,
they are nevertheless to be understood
as referred to in the predicate 89 ΠΕΡῚ,
which could not be repeated. 27x?
are properly separated by the Zakeph-
katon from the preceding words, and
stand in immediate connexion with
the following M21 }}8, which emphati-
cally teaches the impossibility of any
religious services being acceptable to
God, while iniquity is not hated and
forsaken. The impenitent Jews sought
to combine both ; just as men in all
ages, and in connexion with every
system of religion, have been prone
to imagine that the observance of
outward rites would atone for the
guilt of sin. Comp. Jer. vii. 8—10.
My? signifies restraint or abstinence from
labour, in order to keep a festival, and
metonymically an assemb/y met under
such circumstances. Comp. the Arab.

ye cohibuit, retinuit, &c. Gesenius

attempts in vain to make it primarily

mean an assembly. Nothing can be
more forced than his reference to
1 Sam. xxi. 8, in proof of his signif.
No. 3, in Niph. ps the LXX. render
νηστεῖα, as if OY had stood in their
copy, but it is unsupported by any
other authority. Lowth’s reasons in
its favour are precisely those which
render it critically suspicious.

14. By 0-77 we are not to under-
stand any monthly festivals different
from that of the new-moon, expressed
in the singular form 77 in the fore-
going verse ; just as DPI compre-
hends all the other feasts there distri-
butively mentioned. The commence-
ment of this verse is nothing more
than an epanalepsis, or resumption of
what had been there introduced, in
order to expatiate upon it, and give it
greater effect—m9, which occurs as a
noun only here and Deut. i. 12, the
cognate verb once, Job xxxvii. 11,
seems chosen in order forcibly to ex-
press what causes fatigue or molesta-
tion, as a weight, burden, &c.; but the
emphasis of the passage is greatly in-
creased by the prep. 7%, xpox, which
indicates the continued pressure of
the painful annoyance. The idea is
beautifully carried out in the con-
cluding words of the verse, where the

_reciprocal form of the verb indicates

self-exhaustion in the effort to perform
any action. The whole passage is
strongly anthropopathical.

15. The extension of the hands to-
wards heaven was a very usual and a
most appropriate gesture in prayer.
See 1 Kings viii. 38, 54; 1 Tim. ii. 8;
and Wets. or Bloomf. Synop. on the
latter passage. The Heb. phrase Ὁ:
02, however, refers rather to the
spreading open of the palms of the

CHAP. I.]

ISATAH.

11

Even though ye multiply prayers, I will not hear :

- Your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash ye; purify yourselves ;

Remove your wicked practices from before my eyes ;

Cease to do evil:
17 Learn to do well;

Seek justice ; right the oppressed ;
Maintain the cause of the orphan; plead for the widow.

hands when extended, than to the
extension of the hands themselves,
though this is necessarily included.

“Tngemit, et duplices tendens ad sidera
palmas.’—VirG. 4neid. lib. 1. 1. 98.

—In 7%n 1am may be included the
Barrodoyia which our Lord condemns,
and for which the Jews appear ever
to have been notorious. Nothing
could be more incongruous than to
spread open to the view of Holy
Omniscience, hands which had been
stained by acts of atrocious wicked-
ness. Hence the practice, to which
allusion is made in the following verse,
of washing the hands before engaging
in prayer—an illusion which also holds
in regard to ὁσίους χεῖρας, 1 Tim. ii. 8.
The last clause of the verse is a prosa-
podosis, in which the reason isassigned
why their services were rejected. It
is noticeable that while the other
verbs in this verse are future in signi-
fication, the last, 1899, is in the prete-
rite, to indicate the habitual cruelty in
which the Jews of that age indulged.
Gesen. Lehrg. § 205. 3.6. 027 in the
plural, 4loods, is generally used of
murders to express the aggravated
atrocity of the crime.

The specification of the entire ser-
vice of the Jews, ver. 12—15, was
intended to produce the conviction,
that no part of it was acceptable to
God, whatever relative importance
they might attach to it, while they
persevered in a course of transgres-
sion,—a great moral truth applicable
to mankind in all ages.

16, 17. Though divided both in the
original, and in the versions, these
verses are most intimately connected
by the identity of the forms, and the
directness of the contrast: Ὁ Ὑ7----

ΔΙΌ ὑπο, They introduce a series of
appropriate expostulations, couched
partly in figurative, partly in literal
terms.— 217, Gesenius and Hendewerk
take for the Hithp. 3377, the n being
suppressed before the sibilant, which
makes the compensation by the Dagesh
forte. Hitzig considers it to be the
Niph. of 73, which is preferable, as
the proper Hithp. of 733 would be
mam. The remark of this writer, that
there are no instances of Hithp. in
verbs having 1 for their first radical
is important.—yioy nex. Gesenius,
Winer, Ewald, Hitzig, and other
moderns, render yi07 actively, consi-
dering it to be equivalent to the
Benon. part. y27; though Gesenius
allows, in his later works, that the
form here employed being intransitive,
the word may be taken in a passive
sense, which, indeed, the connexion
absolutely requires. LXX. ῥύσασθε
ἀδικούμενον, and so the Chal., Syr.,
Vulg.,Saad., and Jewish Span. Kimchi
also renders it 319, not %3,as Gesenius
represents it in his Comment. The
Rabbi explains the meaning by re-
ferring to Ps. xxi. 4; but he gives the
sense of the passage thus: NTH Ὁ Nw
ws nv dn, “Direct him who is
robhed and wronged in his judgment.”
Though the root primarily signifies to
be sour, acid, the idea of corrupt,
suggested by Bochart, and adopted by
Lowth, Dathe, (emendate quod cor-
ruptum est,) and others, does not suit,
as indeed Lowth himself felt; but
that of violence, which, in common
with its cognate Ddq, it obviously
conveys, is fully warranted ws wy,
to be erect, straight, right, has, in Piel,
the causative signification, ¢o make or
place erect, to cause to walk right ; hence
to lead, guide. It here specifically

12

18

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. I.

Come now, let us reason with each other, saith Jehovah :

Though your sins be like scarlet, they shall be white as snow ;
Though they be red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

19 If ye be willing and obey,

Ye shall consume the best of the land ;

20 But if ye refuse and rebel,

Ye shall be utterly consumed by the sword.
For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.

signifies to raise the afflicted from his
state of depression under the violent
hand of his enemy, to see him righted
as to his place in society, to restore
him to circumstances of prosperity.
The uncommon frequency with which
the cases of the orphan and widow
are taken up in the Old Testament,
evinces the high degree of importance
attached to this branch of Hebrew
ethics.

18. A remarkable instance of gracious
condescension on the part of Jehovah,
designed to afford the utmost en-
couragement to penitent and return-
ing sinners. Gesenius, after Michaelis,
Koppe, and Eichhorn, supposes that
the passage refers not to pardon, but
to judgment, though he construes it
differently ; but the passages which
he adduces are by no means parallel,
and the verbs employed are ™ and
wp, not m2, which the prophet here
uses, and which signifies to argue a
point, reason, a8 well as to punish. It
is used in a kind sense, as the con-
nexion shews. Comp. the beautiful
parallel, chap. xliii. 26, where even
ὭΒ occurs in the same signification.
Jewish Span. contrastemonos. — 7%,
prop. garments of scarlet colour, from
γῦ, a colour obtained from the coccus
licis of Linnzeus—an insect which
deposits its eggs in the leaves of the
quercus cocciferus, found in Spain, and
other countries bordering on the
Mediterranean. It was greatly in
request by the ancients, who prepared
from it a deep scarlet, or beautiful
crimson dye, somewhat resembling
that which is now obtained from the
coccus cacti, or the cochineal insect.

It is called by the Arabs Leys
kermes; (in the Jewish Span. οἱ car-

mesi;) hence our “crimson.” From
the similarity of the word to ποῦ,
which signifies fo repeat, or do a thing
a second time, some have supposed, that
double-dyed crimsons or purples are
meant: a supposition which derives
some support from the dis tincta, and
dibapha of the Roman writers ; and
from the διπλοῦν of the LXX. Exod.
xxv. 4; and the δίβαφον of Symm.
Exod. xxviii. 8, where the Vulg. has
bistinctum. In the present passage,
the LXX. render it φοινικοῦν, which
Hesych. interprets πυῤῥὸν, κόκκινον,
αἱματώδες ; but which is properly to
be explained from the circumstance,
that it formed a celebrated article of
Phenician commerce. The corre-
sponding term YA signifies a worm,
and denotes the insect itself, from
which the colour was obtained. It is
here used merely for variety of ex-
pression. The two words are found
together : ‘20 nyAn, Exod. xxv. 4: and
nyain 20, Lev. xiv. 4. With the Jews
white was the symbol of purity ; red,
of crime, especially of cruelty and
murder.

19, 20. The rhythmus and antithesis
in these verses are exquisite. ὮΝ
might, in the former instance, be
rendered enjoy, as Luther gives it;
but as it is employed in the latter
with evident reference to its previous
occurrence, consume is more appro-
priate. 28m is intensively, and not
causatively passive, as Gesenius would
have it. Supply ἃ before 7. The
interpretation of Hitzig: “ye shall
be compelled to devour the sword,”
i.e. by receiving it into your vitals,
is violent, and quite repugnant to
Scripture usage. See Deut, xxxii. 42;
2 Sam. 11. 26,

CHAP. I.]

ISAIAH.

13

21 Ah! how is she become an harlot—the faithful city !

She that was full of justice !

Righteousness dwelt in her, but now murderers !

22 Thy silver is become dross ;

Thy liquor is weakened with water ;

23 Thy princes are rebellious, and associates of thieves ;
Every one of them loveth a bribe, and pursueth rewards ;
They maintain not the cause of the orphan ;

And the cause of the widow reacheth them not.

24 Hence the announcement of the Lord,

21. The prophet again depicts the
corrupt state of the metropolis ; con-
trasts its present moral degradation
with the high and honourable character
which it had formerly sustained ; and
denounces the wrath of God against
the finally impenitent. 77982 has
special reference to fidelity in the
worship and service of the true God,
and 7 to the idolatrous practices
which obtained in the days of Ahaz.
Such practices were a breach of the
matrimonial bond into which the
nation had symbolically entered with
Jehovah. The Jod in ‘D8? is usually
called paragogic, but seems rather to
be the relic of an ancient mode of
expressing the status constructus, or, as
Ewald. § 406, terms it, a union-vowel.
It occurs very rarely in prose, and
then only in the first four books of
the Pentateuch; but it is more fre-
quent in poetry, and vefy common in
proper names, as P1Z7379, 27T3Y, Ke.

22. oD, the recedanea, or scorie
which separates from metal in a state
of fusion, or the baser metal thus
detached from it when smelted. The
metallurgic art appears to have been
cultivated at a very early period.
Numerous traces of it occur in the
Scriptures—many of them indicating
a considerable degree of proficiency.—
820, the LXX. and Symm. οἶνός ; Aq.
συμπόσιον. ‘This substantive, and the
verb from which it is derived, are
only used in poetical or prophetical
composition, and unequivocally convey
the idea of inebriating liquor, or liquor,
the drinking of which freely in its
pure state would produce intoxication.
It is used in this place, to express the

idea of purity or genuineness, in which
alone its potency lay; though, per-
haps, not exclusive of an implied
reference to the abuse of it.—79, lit.
cut, wounded, killed with water. The
word occurs only in this place ; but
is quite in keeping with similar modes
of expression among the Arabs, as
may be seen in Gesen. Comment. in
loc. “Vinum aqua secare est phrasis
orientalis, vinum aqua miscere indi-
cans.” —Dathe. The lexicographers
compare it with 0, to circumcise ;
with which the German weiz taufen,
to baptize wine, is singularly parallel
as it respects the religious rites from
which the phraseology is borrowed.
Both members of the verse express
the deterioration which had taken
place in the state and character of
the Jews.

23, DMD PW, a paronomasia, which
also occurs Hos. ix.15; and in sound,
though not in sense, Jer. vi. 28.—
Ὁ is not used elsewhere, but is
introduced as a parallel to Mw, LXX.
ἀνταπόδημα ; Symm. ἀμοιβάς.

24, NT ON? A solemn and em-
phatic mode of expression, admirably
adapted, in connexion with the follow-
ing accumulation of Divine appella-
tives, to excite attention to the decla-
ration they were intended to introduce.
ἘΝ, cognate with 0m}, to ery aloud,
roar, as the lion, the sea, &c., is the
Pah. construct, and signifies what has
been solemnly or oracularly announced. -
Hence the idiomatic phrase, Jer. xxiil.
31, Dx? wR, “and solemnly pro-
nounce: the oracle of,” where there
is a singular beauty in the suppression
of the Divine name, since what the

B

14

ISATAH.

[CHAP. I,

Jehovah of Hosts, the Protector of Israel:
Ha! I will be relieved from my adversaries ;
I will be avenged of my enemies.

25 But I will again turn my hand towards thee,
And will smelt away thy dross as with potash,

And take away all thine alloy.

false prophets pretended to deliver
had not proceeded from Jehovah, but
was the mere invention of their own
brain.—ji7x. Some regard the subst.
Ts, @ base or pedestal, as the root of
this word; but the more natural
derivation is that adopted by the most
distinguished Heb. scholars for the
last century, which refers it to p7 or
T7, to exercise power or authority, subju-
gate, judge. When used, as here,
with the article, as also without it in
elevated poetry, Ps. cxiv. 7, the word
is taken absolutely to designate Jeho-
vah as the Supreme Judge or Universal
Governor. It is applied in the same
sense to the Messiah, Mal. iii. 1. 25x,
the plural form absolute, is likewise
used exclusively of God. Gen. xix.
18, forms no exception: the pause
accent there requiring the Patach to
be changed into Kametz; so that,
though the form of the Divine name
is exhibited, which led the Masoretes
to mark it 7p, it is in reality the
simple plural, with the pronominal
affix, as in ver. 2. To further distin-
guish Jehovah from all other rulers,
he is styled yw jx. VIX occurs
only here in construction with os,
and five times besides in construction
with apm. It is derived from 72x, an
intransitive verb, not in use, but cog-
nate with 732Y, to pass over, 152, to be
over, cover, and signifying to cover,
protect, defend ; hence 738, and πὰς,
wing Or pinion, from the protection
which it affords. The meaning of the
phrase 2 & Vis is, therefore, the Pro-
tector of Israel—omw. This is one
of those Heb. verbs which are so
pregnant with meaning as to convey
even contrary ideas. It is properly
expressive of strong emotion, and the
mental relief or enjoyment which
results from an effort to give vent to
it. With respect to one’s own actions,
it signifies to grieve or repent ; with

respect to those of others, to inflict
punishment, avenge one’s self upon
them. In both cases the mind is
eased of the annoyance which blame-
worthy conduct has occasioned to it.
It also signifies to exercise pity or
compassion towards suffering, because
of the effect of such exercise upon
one’s own mind. God is here repre-
sented anthropopathically as deter-
mined no longer to be vexed, or
offended by the conduct of his enemies,
but to obtain relief from the burden
which it imposed, by removing them
from the scene of action ; or so affect-
ing them by his judgments, as to
deprive them of the opportunity of
insulting him. See the beautiful note
of Lowth on the passage.—The 7 in
mp is the sign of the elongated
Future, indicating a fixed determina-
tion to effect the action expressed.
25. by VY ΠΤ is used in a hostile
sense, Ps. Ixxxi. 15; Amos i. 8; but
the connexion shews that the phrase
is here to be taken in a good sense,
as pointing out the return of the
divine favour—though that favour
could only be restored by an exertion
of power in removing the causes of
indignation,—33, as with potash: Jew-
ish Span.-como wabon. 3 for 33, as freq.
1a, a vegetable salt obtained from the
ashes of the /ali, or soap-plant, of
which Forskal found several kinds in
Egypt and Arabia: hence the Arabic,

\all, Alkali, adopted into our west-

ern languages. It is the same article,
otherwise called ™3, and was used,
not only in cleansing cloth, or washing
the body, but also, as appears from
this passage, in purifying metals;
causing the different parts to separate
more readily from each other. Thus
the Chald.; but the other ancient
versions simply express the idea of
purity—the effect for the cause. Bo-

CHAP. I.]

ISAIAH. 15

26 And I will restore thy judges as at the first,
And thy counsellors as at the beginning ;

After this, they shall call thee,

The city of righteousness, the faithful state.

27 Zion shallbe delivered through justice,
And her converts through righteousness.

28 But the destruction of the rebels and the sinners shall be together ;
And those who forsake Jehovah shall perish. ‘

29 For ye shall be ashamed of the terebinths in which ye delighted,
And blush for the gardens which ye had chosen. .

chart. ii. 43.—>y72, any base admixture
of lead, tin, or other impure metal’
found in silver ore. It derives its
name from its being separated (513)
from it in the process of smelting.
26. The restoration of righteous
judges and counsellors was to be ef-
fected by the removal of those who
were corrupt, and the creation of such
as answered to the character originally
prescribed in the law. ΠΡ, which is
seldom used, except in the poetical or
prophetical books of Scripture, is
synonymous with vy, It is derived
from MR, 82, to fall in with, meet ; Arab.

VB, collegit, hospitium excepit, in urbe
urbs, Heb. and

Punic, ΠΣ; and properly signifies a
place of meeting, where there is an
assemblage of persons, and where
strangers may expect to meet with
hospitality, Gen. xix. 1,2, In 72 ΝῊ,
is a common Hebraism, according to
which, a person is said fo be called
what he really 7s; so that, “thou shalt
be called” is equivalent to, “thou shalt
be.” This idiom, though more fre-
quently occurring in Isaiah, is not
peculiar to him. See the parallel pas-
sage, Zech. vi. 3. In all such cases,
the name specified is not a xomen
proprium, but a predicate of certain
properties or qualities distinguishing
the object named.

27. Since the inhabitants of Zion
are not described in this chapter, as
having been carried into exile, 72% is
not to be translated, ἡ αἰχμαλωσία
αὐτῆς, her captives, as in the LXX., but
as Jarchi gives it; T2wn wv, “those

vivit; hence, 9,3,

who repent.” 2% signifies, in such
connexion, to turn to God in the way
of genuine conversion. The converts
of Zion were her inhabitants, con-
sidered as recovered to the true wor-
ship and service of God.

28, 29. DxwM OYE denote the oppo-
site characters to 72, in the preceding
verse—impenitent and obstinate trans-
gressors. The change of person in
Hebrew poetry is very common; so
that, though Kennicott’s Codices, 150,
182, and De Rossi’s 226, originally,
together with Munster’s printed edi-
tion of 1536, the Chaldee Paraphrase,
and the version of Saadias, read 717,
“ Ye shall be ashamed,” it is not at all
improbable that x, the reading of
the Textus Receptus, is genuine; and
to alter it simply on such authorities
as those just mentioned, would be
unwarrantable. At the same time,
since the third persons of verbs are
often used impersonally, this verb may
be considered as subordinated to those
which follow, and translated accord-
ingly, as I have done in the version.
To avoid the harshness, the LXX. and
Syr. throw onyer into the third person,
—o’?x, to correspond to ni:7, in the
second member of the verse, must be
interpreted, ¢erebinth, or oak - groves;
which places, as well as gardens, while
they afforded shelter from the burning
heat of the sun, were peculiarly favour-
able to the obscene practices connected
with idolatrous worship. They were
accordingly selected for the purpose,
not only by the ancient idolaters in
Pheenicia, Syria, and other parts of the
East, but in Germafiy, Britain, &c.
though the superstitions in the colder

10

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. I.

30 For ye shall be as a terebinth whose leaves wither ;
And as a garden in which is no water.
31 The powerful man shall become tow,

And his work a spark of fire ;

They shall both burn together,
And no one shall quench them.

climates of Europe may not have been
marked by the same degrees of licen-
tiousness.—It has been contested,
whether by the 7x,is to be understood
the ¢erebinth, or turpentine-tree, or the
oak, It takes its name from its strength
and hardness. The LXX. render it
τερέβινθος, Gen. xiv. 6; but Aq.,Symm.,
and Theod. have δρῦς, which the LXX.
frequently employ as a translation of
the kindred word 7x, substituted for
it in the next verse. According to
Gesenius--Aristotle, Theophrastus, and
Pliny, describe the Terebinth as an
evergreen—a quality which would suit
ver. 30; but the fact is denied by
modern botanists. Lowth, unable to
make up his mind, either to terebinth
or oak, renders the words by ‘lez,
which is a species of the latter. The
truth of the matter seems to be, that
the Hebrews used it to designate the
Pistacia Terebinthus of Linn.; while
they appropriated js and 7x to the
oak, in supporting whichappropriation,
all the ancient versions agree: though,
in the present case, Aq., Symm., and

Theod. have εἰδώλων : taking the word
to be >8, which is used both of the
true God, and of any false divinity.
The Arabs call it the Butm-tree. For
a description of it, see Dr. Robinson’s
Biblical Researches, vol. iii. p. 15.

30. Nothing could more strikingly
typify the destitute and forlorn con-
dition of the ungodly, in their circum-
stances of destruction, than the faded
terebinth, and gardens without any
supply of water.—For 79, the singular,
nearly fifty MSS. and eight editions
read in the plural 7%.

31. OD, powerful, great in might or
riches. Some interpret this of τοί,
and their worshippers, but less aptly.
The word seems to be used to denote
the influential characters in the Jewish
state, whose wicked deeds had plunged
it into such dire calamities. Both they
and the objects of their idolatrous
worship should now be consumed
together. ‘9b, dis work, is here equi-
valent to "7 Mwy, the work of his hands,
i.e. his idols, ch, ii, 8; xxxvil. 19,

———

CHAPTERS .——IV.

That these chapters form one connected whole, has been admitted by most
expositors. It was reserved for Koppe, Eichhorn, and Bertholdt, to break
them up into minute fractions; but the unsuccessful results of their efforts
have cured the mania for critical operations of this description, which raged
for a time in Germany. Jahn, Déderlein, and Hitzig, inciude also the fifth
chapter in the discourse; yet, with the exception of Déderlein, they consider
it to be so far distinct, as claiming to be regarded in the light of a second
division of it. Gesenius treats them as altogether separate discourses.

The time when this discourse was delivered seems plainly determinable, by the
political and moral traits which it exhibits, 'The flourishing state of com-
merce; the importation of the precious metals from the East; their great

CHAP. II.]

ISAIAH. 17
abundance; the introduction of foreign manners, especially idolatry; and
the luxury and finery which prevailed ; seem all to agree with the commence-
ment of the reign of Ahaz. For the conducting of these several items to
the pitch which they then reached, ample provision had been made, by the
reopening of the port of Elath, under Uzziah, 2 Kings xiv. 22; his increase
of military prowess, and his success, 2 Chron. xxvi. 6—15; and the prospe-
rous eareer of Jotham, 2 Chron. xxvii.3—6. The strong features of idolatry
which the prophet exhibits, entirely militate against the hypothesis of this
section having been delivered in the time of Uzziah. In part of that of
Jotham, matters greatly deteriorated ; but it was not till Ahaz ascended the
throne, that the door was opened for the entrance of all kinds of wickedness
and abomination,

CHAPTER II.

The prophet commences with a lucid prediction of the establishment of

Messiah’s kingdom, and its happy results, 1—5; he then depicts the awful
apostasy and idolatry of the Jews in the times immediately following his
own, 6—9; denounces the divine judgment against the different classes of
the people, 10—17; predicts the utter abolition of idolatry, 18—21; and

closes with an exhortation to withhold all confidence in man, 22.

1 THe things which Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw, concerning

Judah and Jerusalem.

2 In the last of the days, the mountain of Jehovah’s house
Shall be established on the summit of the mountains,

1, 127 has the signification of thing
or matter, as well as that of word, and
especially, in such connexion, a thing
or things forming the subject matter
of divinely oracular communication. Ver-
bum pro divino responso et oraculo.
4winglius. Most modern translators
render the term, by prophecy ; but then
they are obliged to give m1, by was re-
vealed, which is an unnecessary liberty.
Every difficulty is removed by the lite-
ral translation given in the version.
More things than one being intended,
127 may be regarded as a collective
noun.

2—4, This passage, with a few
verbal differences, being also found
Micah iv. 1—3, it has been matter of
dispute, to which of the two prophets
belongs the claim of originality; and

some have even maintained, that it
contains the words of a third and more
ancient prophet, which both Isaiah and
Micah adopted on different occasions.
This hypothesis, however, is quite un-
necessary : nor is it of any consequence
which of the prophets first delivered
the prediction. They were contem-
poraries, and the one may have heard
the other,—a supposition which will
account for the discrepancies between
them, in point of phraseology, much
better than the theory, that one of
them copied the passage from the
written prophecy of the other. τ
2. The phrase, 027 M7¥, which, in
itself signifies, remote future time inde-
finitely, has, in the prophets, a more
determinate reference; viz. to the last
period of the divine dispensations, the

18

ISATAH.

[CHAP. 11.

And shall be elevated above the hills,
And all the nations shall flow to it.
3 Yea, many people shall go and say ;
Come, let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
That he may teach us his ways;
And that we may walk in his paths.
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem.

time of the Christian economy. Comp.
Jer. xxii. 20; xxx. 24; Dan, x. 14;
Hos. iii. 5. Hence the current Jewish
interpretation: way nim, the days of
Messiah,—the time when he should
appear, and during which his kingdom
should endure; of which, Kimchi and
other rabbins consider the present
passage to be clearly predictive. Abar-
banel says expressly, ΤΡ NVI? PHD 1 N'7,
“it belongs without doubt to the days
of the Messiah.” Mashm. Hayeshuah,
fol. 8. col 1. LUXX. ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις
ἡμέραις, Which is either adopted or
imitated in the N. T. Acts 11.17; Heb.
i. 1; 1 Pet. i. 20. The mountains and
hills cannot here be literally under-
stood of Zion, Lebanon, Tabor, Gilead,
&c. since the elevation of the former
of these mountains above the others,
or rather its transposition to be firmly
based upon their summits, would argue
a physical convulsion too violent and
absurd in its phenomena to be for a
moment admitted. In the symbolical
diction of prophecy, mountains betoken
commanding or governing powers, or
governments and systems, political and
ecclesiastical. In a religious point of
view, the phraseology may be based
upon the fact, that altars and temples,
the central points of idolatrous wor-
ship, were constructed on elevated
localities. The establishment, there-
fore, of Zion upon the tops of the
mountains, and its paramount eleva-
tion, refer to the superior position
which the church of God was to
assume, in relation to the different
systems of false religion; the influ-
ence which she was to exert upon
them, and her permanent duration,
chap. xi. 9; Dan. ii. 35; Rev. xvi. 20.
—, to flow as a river, is beautifully

descriptive of a long and continuous
mass of human beings collected from
different quarters, and moving forward
in procession towards some point of
common interest.—Instead of YX,
Micah has YY, which is the more
definite, and, on this account, more
probably the later in its composition.
—oinr2 points out the universal
character of the Christian dispensa-
tion. Instead of the Jewish males
going up thrice in the year to Jerusa-
lem, andindividual proselytes repairing
thither from thesurrounding countries,
the great mass of the population of the
globe would abandon their supersti-
tions, and enter the church of God.
3. The same idea of universality is
prosecuted in this verse, with a decla-
ration of the object which the converts
would have in view, in repairing to the
church, and the means by which their
conversion should be effected. The
prefixed to the futures, 7223, 1%, and
7272 occurring after 3°), a verb in the
imperative mood, is not merely copu-
lative, but marks the ends or events
to which the action expressed by that
verb was to be introductory. 727, when
used as here in the imperative, is a
formula of exhortation or excitement,
and though strictly meaning to go,
proceed in any direction, is more
appropriately rendered into English
by come. Gesen. Lehrgeb. p. 873.—
The synonymes JJ, and Mk, like odds,
Acts ix. 2; xix. 9, 23; 2 Pet. ii. 2; and

the Arab. al Cow, Cow, in the

Koran, signify religion, religious prin-
ciples, worship, and conduct.—» is not
partitive here, as if only partial in-
struction were to be obtained; but,
after verbs of teaching, it indicates

CHAP. II.]

ISATAH.

19

4 And he shall arbitrate among the nations,
And give decision to many people ;
So that they shall beat their swords into coulters,
And their spears into pruning-knives :
Nation shall not raise a sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war any more.

5 O house of Jacob!

Come and let us walk in the light of Jehovah.
6 Surely thou hast cast off thy people, the house of Jacob,

the matter or subject, which the
teaching has for its object.—If mn
may be taken in its appropriated
sense for the Old Testament revela-
tion; the im 127 in the following
hemistich will then signify the gospel,
or the announcements of the New
Testament, which are repeatedly called
ὁ λόγος Tod κυρίου, as in Acts xix. 10;
2 Thess. iii. 1. Both terms, however,
may be descriptive of divine doctrine
generally. This part of the prophecy
received a literal fulfilment, when the
apostles executed our Lord’s commis-
sion, to go and teach “all nations,
beginning at Jerusalem,” Luke xxiv. 47 ;
but consistency of interpretation re-
quires the term to be applied to the
church, of which, at the time the
prediction was uttered, and also in the
apostolic age, Jerusalem was the cen-
tral locality. It was from the church,
and by the church, that the truth was
to be propagated throughout the
world; and to that church, in her
universality, the nations were to come
for instruction.

4, Here the scene of Messiah’s reign
is distinctly laid in the Gentile world ;
where its influence was to be exten-
sively felt, in the abolition of war,
and the security enjoyed in cultivating
the peaceful arts. To the description
given by our prophet, Micah adds :—

“And they shall sit, each under his
vine, and under his fig-tree,
And none shall make them afraid :
For the mouth of Jehovah of hosts
hath spoken it.”—Chap. iv. 4.

Compare Martial, Epigr. xiv. 34; and
for the reverse of the picture, Joel iv.
10; Virg. Georg. i. 507 ; Ovid, Fast,

i.699. The fulfilment of this predic-
tion has hitherto only been partial, in
consequence of the partial prevalence
of the genuine spirit of the gospel ;
but it is undeniable, that Christianity
has greatly contributed to ameliorate
the political condition of mankind, by
diminishing the horrors of war, pro-
moting useful intercourse, and ad-
vancing the useful arts. Its plenary
accomplishment is reserved for a
period yet future, of the tranquillity
and prosperity of which, the prophetic
pages abound with the most glowing
descriptions. The nominative to ew,
&e. Kimchi and other rabbins admit
to be the King Messiah. —DPx, on
comparing 1 Sam. xiii. 20, obviously
signify agricultural implementsofiron,
and most probably the cow/fer, as there
distinguished from 7772 and nv,
implements similarly employed. The
Jewish interpreters render the word
by mattocks, which is supported by
the version of Symmachus. Comp.

however, the Arab. (#3), molle fuit

(ferrum) ; (Ὁ, Οἱ» molle Serrum.

5. Contains a spirited address to
the Jews forthwith to avail themselves
of the privileges which they enjoyed,
lest, while these privileges were ex-
tended to other nations, they might
be deprived of them. iT ἦν, che light
of Jehovah, is the instruction or know-
ledge which he imparts. See ver. 3.

6. The exigency of the place requires
9 to be rendered surely or assuredly,—
not for, which is quite foreign to the
connexion. Contrasting the happiness
which his people might enjoy, by
walking in the paths of obedience,
with their foreseen forlorn condition,

20

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. IL.

Because they are full of the East;

They practise magic, like the

Philistines,

And strike hands with the sons of foreigners.

Their land also is full of silver and gold ;

And there is no end to their treasures.
Yea, their land is full of horses,
And there is no end to their chariots.

the prophet abruptly changes the
object of address, and appeals directly
to Jehovah, who had brought his
judgments upon them; and proceeds
to point out the causes which had
procured them. Nothing can be more
violent than the interpretation of the
Targum, Saadias, Michaelis, and Hitzig,
according to which 37%" ΓΞ is to be
considered as the vocative case, thus :
“For thou hast left thy people, O
house of Jacob!” Besides there being
no parallel instance of such construc-
tion, the frequent use of 2), the verb
here employed, in connexion with m7,
to express his abandonment of his
people, shews, that it is to Him the
address is directed. The 7 in πηι Ὁ),
is not a contraction of ™, as Houbi-
gant conjectures, but the fuller, though
rarer form of the pronominal afforma-
tive of the second pers. sing. mas.
See Gen. ili. 12; Mal. 11. 14.---

meant, who taught the superstitions,
and practised the sorceries of Syria
and Babylon. The contrast, in point
of locality, which is effected by this
construction, evinces the impropriety
of taking ἘΠῚ in the temporal sense,
as the ancient versions do, as well as
the conjecture of Brentius, adopted
by several moderns, which would sub-
stitute DDp2 for DIP. Lowth would
unite both, and render, “ with divina-
tion from the east :” but this is quite
uncritical. The Hexaplar Syr. has

La3Qe, Syria. For the Philistines, see

chap. xiv. 29. That they were addicted
to augury we learn 1 Sam. vi. 2.
Whether 022% be descriptive of those
who divined by observing the pheno-
mena of the clouds (12%, @ cloud), or of
those who employed ocular fascination,

(ty, the eye,) we have no sufficient
data according to which to determine.
LXX. κληδονίζομαι, but also ὀρνιθο-

σκοπέω, Ley, xix. 26. Syr. wah asd SO 3

Vul. augures in general. Luth. Zage-
wihler. Gesenius gives to the verb
pe the signification of covering, and
interprets the noun as denoting those
who act covertly, who use covert arts.
m723 "12, commonly 122 323, foreiguers,
whom the Jews hired to divine for
them, after the manner of the heathen.
a pews, to make a bargain, or enter
into an agreement by striking hands—
a mode of contracting common in the
. East, as it is in most nations. Hence

the Arab. 432.0, complosio manuum,

venditio, contractus, a settled bargain,
effected in this way. The verb is
nearly related to p20, frequently used
for striking the hands together in
token of joy, &c. and is found in this
sense in thirty-one codices, Job xxvii.
23. The Ὁ occurs in the present case
in some MSS. and in the Soncin.
edition. |

7. This description of opulence and
prowess would agree with the time of
Uzziah, who had an army of 307,500
men; but there is no reason to suppose
that they diminished in the days of
his son; and by the time Ahaz as-
cended the throne, the evils which
usually follow in their train, had
greatly increased. The multiplication
of horses, riches, &c. was expressly
prohibited to the king, Deut. xvii. 16,
17,—a prohibition, not, as Gesenius
insinuates, of an equally late date with
the practice of the Jewish monarchs,
in procuring horses from Egypt, but
originally inserted in the Jewish law
by Moses, and prophetically indicative
of their propensity to indulge in what
had a natural tendency to alienate

CHAP. 11]

ISATAH.

21

8 Their land is full even of idols;
They bow down to the work of their hands,
To that which their fingers have made.

9 The man of low condition is bowed down,
And the man of rank is brought low ;
And thou wilt by no means forgive them.

10

Enter the rock, and hide thee in the dust,

From the fear of Jehovah, and from his glorious majesty.

11

The haughty eyes of man shall be brought low,

And the loftiness of men shall be humbled,
And Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day.

12

For there is a day of Jehovah of hosts,

Against every thing that is proud and lofty,

their trust from God. As camels and
asses were the animals used by the
Hebrews for riding, horses were pro-
cured for purposes of war. Comp.
Proy. xxi. 31; Job xxxix. 19—25;
Zech. x. 3. The mi33,2 were war-
chariots, These were very common
among the Canaanites and other neigh-
bouring nations; and some of them
being armed with iron scythes or
hooks, currus fulcati, made terrible
havoc among the ranks of the enemy.

8. DYN, non-entities, 1. 6. idols, ficti-
tious beings, destitute of all life and
power, from x, xihili esse: most pro-
bably in this case, as Vitringa remarks,
teraphim, or household gods, whose
idolatrous rites were celebrated in
private, but not publicly tolerated
till the accession of Ahaz.

9. Though D078 and Wx are some-
times mere synonymes, yet in passa-
ges such as this, where the design of
the writer is to describe different
ranks of men, they are used by way
of antithesis. Comp. Ps. xlix. 3; Is.
v.15. lLuth. very expressively: “Da
biickt sich der Pébel, da demiithigen
sich die Junker.’ As all classes were
addicted to false worship, the judg-
ments of God would be universal.
Considering that the idolaters had
been accustomed to bow down before
the objects of their adoration, there is
@ singular propriety in the selection
of the verbs here employed to express
their punishment. They are repeated
in verses 11, 12, and 17.--- τ xwn by)

marks the strong conviction in the
prophet’s mind, that merited punish-
ment would be inflicted upon them.
‘x, like the Greek μή, is used in sub-
jective propositions to express the
certainty of the negation, as it respects
the person by whom it is uttered.
‘Ewald’s Gram. § 573, Eng. Trans.
The meaning is: that, how much
soever the Jews were depressed by
external calamities, these calamities
should not be removed, but should
still continue to weigh them down, as
subjects of the divine indignation.

10. Ὅν, lit. dust, but used here, as
frequently in the poetical books, for
yr. mim ap, the fear which the
coming judgments of Jehovah inspire.
One MS. supported by the LXX. and
Arab. versions, adds, as in verses 19
and 21: yyx2 yw? mp3, but it is evi-
dently an emendation, and does not
suit the present connexion.

11. ‘90 should properly be in the
plural, to agree with Ὁ, but it 15 in-
fluenced by the attraction of the
nearer noun Ὁ, as similar instances
evince, The contrast between O78,
Dx, and mim, is marked and striking.

12, mi) dy, In the prophetical
writings, the term oY is frequently
employed to denote a period of divine
judgment, Ezek. vii. 10; Joel i. 15;
just as ἡμέρα τοῦ κυρίου is used in the
N. T. for the day of judgment. 120
and ny are similarly used. Hence the
emphasis attaching to i777 DW, ver. 11.
Ἐκείνη ἡ ἡμέρα, 2 Thess. 1. 10, ἕο. The

σ

22

ISAIAH.

{[CHAP. II.

And against every thing that is elevated,

And it shall be brought low.
13
That are lofty and elevated ;

Against all the cedars of Lebanon,

And against all the oaks of Bashan.

14

Against all the high mountains
8 Ξ ᾽

And against all the elevated hills.

15 Against every high tower,

And against every fortified wall.

? refers the judgment to Jehovah, as
the author of its infliction.

13—16, contain a specification of
several of the most distinguished
objects of nature and art, in order,
metaphorically, to represent the dif-
ferent persons or orders of men,
elevated by the dignity of office, or
rendered notable by their riches, or
the elegance and luxury of their
establishments, whom the judgments
of God would, in a more remarkable
manner, hurl into ruin. “They afford,”
Lowth elegantly observes, “a striking
example of that peculiar way of writing,
which makes a principal characteristic
of the parabolical or poetical style of
the Hebrews, and in which their poets
deal so largely; namely, their manner
of exhibiting things divine, spiritual,
moral, and political, by a set of images
taken from things natural, artificial,
‘religious, historical; in the way of
metaphor, or allegory.” He proceeds
to shew, that most of these are
borrowed from nature, and that the
Hebrew poetry is distinguished from
all other poetry by its regular appro-
priation of a certain set of such
images to the explication of certain
subjects; as the cedars of Lebanon,
the oaks of Bashan, for kings, princes,
&e.; mountains for kingdoms; towers
for protectors, ἕο. Compare chap. x.
33, 34; xiv. 8; xxx.25. The whole
passage in the prophet is in the high-
est degree figurative.

13. No objects of natural history
mentioned in Scripture, have been
more celebrated than the cedars of
Lebanon. The cedar tree, the Pinus
cedrus of Linneus, is found on some
of the mountains in Asia Minor, and
in different parts of the Levant ; but

nowhere so stately, beautiful, and
fragrant, as on Lebanon, Notwith-
standing all the ravages made in its
famous forests, by the building of such
palaces as those of Jerusalem, Perse-
polis, Tadmor, and others, in ancient
times ; the exportation of immense
quantities from Tyre to different parts
of the Mediterranean, and the constant
use of it for wainscotting the houses
in the surrounding country, down to
the present time, there still remains
a remnant sufficient to call forth the
admiration of travellers. The number
of the trees is different, as estimated
by different persons who have visited
the spot since they were first de-
scribed by Bellonius in 1550. Dr.
Richardson, who saw them in 1818,
states :—“They are large, tall, and
beautiful, the most picturesque pro-
ductions of the vegetable world we
had seen. There are in this clump
two generations of trees; the oldest
are large and massy, rearing their heads
to an enormous height, and spreading their
branches afar, We measured one of
them, which we afterwards saw was not
the largest in the clump, and found
it thirty-two feet in circumference.
Seven of these trees have a particu-
larly ancient appearance; the rest are
younger, but equally tall, though
for want of space, their branches
are not so spreading.” Some of
them are stated by the Rey. Mr. Fisk,
who visited them in 1823, to be about
ninety feet high. Besides this forest,
Seetzen discovered two others which
surpassed it in extent. Rosenm. Bib.
Geog. ii. p. 216. For Lebanon, see on
chap. x. 34.—Next to the cedars of
Lebanon, ranked ¢he oaks of Bashan, a
mountainous, but exceedingly fertile

CHAP. 11.}

ISATAH.

23

16 And against all the ships of Tarshish,
And all the vessels of delightful appearance.

17

And the pride of men shall be brought low,

The loftiness of men shall be humbled,
And Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day.

18
19
And the caves of the earth,

And the idols shall wholly pass away.
And men shall enter the caverns of the rocks,

From the fear of Jehovah and from his glorious majesty,
When he riseth to shake terribly the land.

20

Τὰ that day shall men cast their silver idols and their golden idols

Which they have made for themselves to worship

To the moles and to the bats:

region beyond the Jordan: still, ac-
cording to Mr. Buckingham, clothed
with forests, among the trees of which
oaks are frequently seen. Robinson
describes part of his route in these
parts as lying for nearly an hour and
a half through a thick forest of fine
oak-trees: and again speaks of the
crests and sides of the hills being
clothed with magnificent oaks, for
which, he adds, this district, the an-
cient Bashan, is still, as of old, justly
celebrated, ii. pp. 209, 211. They
were used by the Phenicians for oars,
Ezek. xxvii. 6.

16. ww nv, ships of Turshish; see
on chap. xxiii, 10.—a7aN7 ΠΡ Ὁ cannot,
on account of the parallelism, which
exactly corresponds to that in the
preceding verses, be extended, as
Gesenius proposes, so as to compre-
hend all the objects which had just
been mentioned separately. Various
interpretations have been given ; but
that of ships delightful to look upon,
suggested by the rendering of the
LXX. πᾶσαν θέαν πλοίων κάλλους, best
accords with the spirit of the passage.

17. πὸ, in the masculine, with the
fem. n1723, may either be used for the
sake of uniformity with verses 9 and
11; or, it may be accounted for on the
principle, that when the predicate is
mentioned before the subject is named,
or its gender thought of, it may natu-
rally assume the simplest form, which
is that of the masculine singular. See
Ewald, § 567.

18. There is a peculiar beauty in
the brevity of this verse, which in
the original consists only of three
words: AM OPN, in which the
letter Lamed predominates. The sin-
gular verb is used, to intimate that
not one of the idols should remain.
No language could more graphically
describe the entire disappearance of
idolatry.

19. Judea, and the neighbouring
regions, abound in caverns, some of
them of an enormous size, to which
the inhabitants were accustomed to
flee for refuge, when attacked by
enemies. Judg. vi. 2; xv. 8; 1 Sam.
ΧΙ. 6; xiv. 11; xxiv. 3, 7, 8—}INT Por,
another instance of paronomasia.

20. This verse is connected with
ver. 18, and shews how the idols
were to pass away. However valuable
they were, they should be rejected
with contempt. ὃ is wanting in one
of Kennicott’s MSS.; at first hand
in one of De Rossi’s; and is erased
from another; but, standing for 072,
it is the common Dativus commodi.
—nine 167? is found in five MSS. as
one word, nmmen, and thus all the
ancient versions (Theod. ἀφαρφερώθ),
though they differ in their interpreta-
tions. Taken separately, the words
might signify, to the digging or burrow-
ing, i.e. the holes of rats—nv®, corre-

sponding to the Arab. x,l8, rats ; but

as animals are mentioned immediately
after, it is more natural to suppose

24

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. III.

21 When they go into the clefts of the rocks,
And into the fissures of the cliffs :
From the fear of Jehovah, and from his glorious majesty,
When he riseth to shake terribly the land.

22 Cease from man

In whose nostrils is a breath ;

For in what is he to be regarded ?

that a simple reference to another
species is made here. Besides, the
quadrilateral form of the following
noun makes the Kefa/fa/, or reduplicate
form in this case the more probable.
Both Gesenius and Hitzig object to
rendering the word by mo/es, on the
ground that these animals are found
in the fields, and do not frequent old
or ruinous buildings, like the bat ; and
the latter commentator, following
Abenezra, proposes sparrows; but the
consideration, that persons fleeing for
safety not only throw away what they
may have accounted valuable before
abandoning their houses, but also in
their flight through the open country,
renders it more likely that precisely
moles are meant. Since the verb ἜΠ
signifies fo dig, its geminated deriva-
tive must denote some animal parti-
cularly noted for perforation, than
which none rivals the mole. See on

the word, Bochart, Hierozo. vol. ii. p.
1031. The fondness of both moles
and bats for darkness, rendered them
fit companions for the idols which
were consigned to oblivion.

21. The 9 in 82) denotes in such
connexion, the time of doing any
action. See Gesen. Lex. ὁ. 7.

22. A very appropriate exhortation,
arising out of the predicted destruction
of all human glory. This verse is
entirely omitted by the LXX.; but is
found in the Targ. and both the
Syriac versions, in Jerome and Αα.,
and is not known ever to have been
wanting in the Hebrew text. Origen,
Jerome, and after them Lyranus,
Menochius, Luther, C&colampadius,
and many others, strangely interpret
the words of Christ—an interpreta-
tion of which the Jews have not failed
to avail themselves to reproach our
Redeemer !

CHAPTER LiL

The prophet now announces, in plain language, the severe privations to which
the Jews would be subject, when the predicted judgments should be

inflicted upon them.

The cutting off of the necessaries of life; the removal

of those in whose hands were the reins of government; the assumption of
rule by totally incompetent persons ; the anarchy and perplexity consequent
upon it ; and the causes of these evils; are all set forth in strong colours,
verses 1—15. The remaining part of the chapter is chiefly occupied with
a picture of female luxury, and the change that would take place in the
appearance of the daughters of Zion, and that of the state generally, as the
result of the visitations of Divine Providence.

΄
CHAP. III.]

ISAIAH.

25

1 For behold! the Lord Jehovah of Hosts

Shall remove from Jerusalem and from Judah,

The stay and the support;

The whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water :—

2 The hero and the warrior;
The judge and the prophet ;
The diviner and the elder;

3 The commander of fifty and the honourable ;
The counsellor, the skilful in magic, and the expert enchanter.

1. There is an intimate connexion
between this verse and that with
which the preceding chapter concludes.
yoo, like other participles following
737, 15. indicative of the future, yo,
mon lit. the male and the female support,
for every kind of support. Another
instance of this idiom, which is com-
mon in the Arabic, occurs Nah. ii. 13,
where the mas. 170, and the fem. 7579,
signify different kinds of prey. Comp.

Lariall, Vail, Harir. Cons. i. p.

36. It cannot be imitated in our
language, but in the Syr. Ver. we have

{Asascm0

Syr. {Dea DSO la ΠΩ ΒΆΡΗ Ξ the

LXX. ἰσχύοντα καὶ ἰσχύουσαν; Aq.
ἔρεισμα καὶ ἐρεισμὸν; Symm. στήριγμα
καὶ στηριγμόν; and in the Jewish
Span. sustentador y sustentadora. —
Though the idea of stay or support is
more naturally connected with that
of bread; hence ony7w2, the staff of
bread, Lev. xxvi 26; Ps. cv. 16; and
coincides with the use of the phrase
22 Wd, to prop up, or support the heart,
1:6. by taking food; yet it may not
inappropriately be also employed in
reference to water, on account of the
strength obtained from its refreshing
influence. The opinion of Gesenius
and Hitzig, that the words 0»—5,
after 7277W2, are an exegetical gloss,
cannot be sustained, since they are
required to complete the hemistich,
and are otherwise quite in the style of
the prophet.

2, 3. In this enumeration, the
different office-bearers and persons of
influence are grouped in pairs—a mode

{oasem; in the Hexap.

of combination not unusual with our
prophet. See chap. xi. 2; xix. 3, 6—9;
xxl. 12, 13; xlii. 19. The coupling
of DD? with δ), shews that the latter
word is here used in a bad sense, to
denote idolatrous prophets, or such as
merely pretended to a divine commis-
sion. See Micah ui.6,7. The oop
were those who professed to interpret
dreams and tell fortunes by the use of
lots, observing the revolutions of the
stars, the flight of birds, arrows, &c.
Augurs have been found in all nations,
but in none more plentifully than in
the ancient nations of Asia, where
they were attached to the court, and
exerted a very great influence on the
affairs of state. They were also
introduced into Rome, and had a
chief called the swmmus aruspex, or
magister publicus. Comp. Ezek. xxi.
21, 22; Dan. ii. 2, &c. own oon, if
occurring alone, would signify one
skilled iz the arts, a skilful artificer,
which is the interpretation given in
the LXX., Syr., Vulg., and Saad.; but
its combination with wy 7.22 imme-
diately following, determines the sense
to that of magic arts, which is sup-
ported by the Targ., and is the signi-

fication of the Aramaic τ and La; eae.

009, from n>, which, like ὙΠ, signifies
to give a low, whispering, muttering
sound, in the manner of sorcerers or
enchanters, is descriptive of the art
of incantation, and cannot, without
doing violence to the native force of
the term, be applied to oratory, or
human eloquence Comp. ver. 20.
The true meaning was more or less
perceived by Aq. “ψιθυρισμῷ, Symm.
ὁμιλίᾳ μυστίκῃ, and Theod. ἐπωδῇ.

26

ISATAH.

[CHAP. III.

4 And I will make boys their rulers,
And children shall govern them.

or

Every one his neighbour ;

And the people shall oppress each other,

The youth shall outrage the aged,
And the despicable him who is honoured.
6 Should any one take hold of another
That is at home with his father, and say,
Thou hast raiment ; be thou our ruler ;
And let this ruin be under thy hand:
7 In that day, he will protest, saying,

(7 will not be a healer:

For in my house is neither bread nor raiment,
Make me not aruler of the people.”

4, There is here a change of person,
by which Jehovah is introduced as
speaking ; which is not unfrequently
the case in Isaiah. O'>°Yn is synony-
mous with 04Y2, only it more forcibly
expresses the petulance of boys in the
exercise of assumed authority. LXX.
ἐμπαίκται ; Luth. Aindische, childish

persons. The abstract saucinesscs, 15
used for the concrete, Comp. Eccles.
x. 16.

5. Instead of 32, eight MSS., fifteen
printed editions, and among these,
three of the earliest, read 32 ; but all
the ancient versions have read as the
Textus Receptus. The verb is here
used in a reciprocal sense. The fol-
lowing clauses are exegetical, and fur-
nish a striking delineation of a state
of anarchy.

6. 3 is sometimes employed to ex-
press what is conditional—a meaning
which the connexion in this place re-
quires. Wx and mx, are used idioma-
tically, and not in the relative, or
more confined sense of family con-
nexion, Y28™3 is literally “the house
of his father,” in which the person
referred to lived in a state of retire-
ment from public life ; but it is used
elliptically for ™23, “in the house,” as
Gen. xii. 15 ; 2 Kings xxii. 9, (5 Keri.)
This interpretation of m2 supersedes
the necessity of Lowth's conjecture,
that tx has been dropped out of the
text. After V8, two of Kennicott’s

Codd. and the Babyl. Tal. add 7x2,
which the LXX. and Chald. support.
The Syr. and Arab. also supply V2") ;
but the ellipsis of 7583, in poetry,
is too common to warrant, on such
slender authority, our adopting the
reading, which is virtually implied in
the preceding verb t=m, though it may
be admitted into translations, That
this person possessed some respecta-
bility is evident from the special
mention of 722%; properly a garment,
which was worn immediately over the
tunic, differing in size, but generally
nine or ten feet in length, and five or
six in breadth, but here obviously used
for an abundant wardrobe, which
would yield a supply sufficient to sup-
port the dignity of office. Ps?, which,
like the Arab. ol, kadi, signifies

a magistrate or judge, is not much in
use.—Instead of ἡ, thirty-five MSS.,
two printed editions, and the Babyl.
Tal. read 72 in the plural. To be
under the hand of any one, is to be
subject to his power and management.

7. After x, supply ἢν, or PP; a
much more naturai filling up of the
ellipsis than 7, since swearing seems
here to be out of the question. Viewed
in connexion withthe description of the
diseased condition of the Jewish po-
lity, chap. i. 6, in which the same verb
(am) occurs, VIA, ὦ healer, is appro-
priately used of one who binds up the

CHAP. III.]

ISATAH.

8 For Jerusalem stumbleth, and Judah falleth ;

Because their languge and their actions
Have been against Jehovah—
To provoke the eyes of his glory.

The shew of their countenance testifies against them ;

Their sin they announce like Sodom; they hide it not;

Wo to them,

For they bring calamity upon themselves.

10

Say ye to the righteous: It shall be well;

For they shall eat the fruit of their actions:

11

Wo to the wicked: It shall be ill;

. For the desert of their hands shall be rendered them.

wounds of a state by the judicious use
of authority. The LXX. resolve the
figure by rendering it dpxnyos. A
plentiful supply of dress and_ pro-
visions being required, among the
Orientals, in all who would assume
the reins of government, or fill any
public station, the individual applied
to earnestly protests against any fur-
ther proposals being made to him, on
the ground that his resources would
not meet the exigencies of the case.
8. From this verse, to the 15th, the
mora, or ruined state of things, de-
scribed in the preceding verses, is ac-
counted for, by its being traced to the
fact, that the people had procured it
by their base and wicked conduct,
which Jehovah further threatens sig-
nally to punish ; while, at the same
time, he would make a due discrimi-
nation in favour of the righteous.—
τύ), the contracted form of niv97, the
Infin. in Hiph. as Ps. Ixxviii. 17. This
verb is usually followed by 75, the
mouth ; ™, the spirit, also occurs Ps,
cvi. 33; but Ὁ, as here, is very ex-
pressive—the eye being that organ of
the body which is most easily and
keenly sensitive of pain. The absence
of the former Jod in 2), which is
borne out by most of the MSS., has
occasioned considerable diversity of
rendering. Michaelis, after the LXX.,
proposes to read "2%, humilis; and
Lowth, 3232, cloud, as the Syr. does,
(probably by a mistake of transcrip-
tion,) supposing an allusion to be
_tmade to the Shekinah in the wilder-

ness ; but the very frequent omission
of Jod fully justifies the Masoretic
punctuation. The pronunciation is
much the same in both readings.

9. The Chald., Syr., Le Clerc, and
Hitzig, render O28 M37, their partiality,
or respect of persons. 1t cannot be de-
nied that the phrase 0°22 T37 signifies
to shew such partiality, Deut. 1. 17 ;
xvi. 19, &c. ; and there can be no doubt
that this sin obtained to a very great
extent among the Jews at the time.
Still, the use of 1737 and 377) N35, in the
other member of the parallelism,
evinces the propriety of the common
rendering, which is defended by Ro-
senmiiller, Gesenius, and Winer. 137
is a verbal noun, from the Infin. in
Hiph. ; in Kal. 723, fo be strange ; in
Piel, fo estrange; but in Hiph. to look
at, know: hence, look, shew, appearance,
as the signification of the noun. The
repeated comparison of the conduct of
the Jews to that of the inhabitants of
Sodom, shews at once how much the
latter was professedly abominated,
and how great were the aggravations
of the former. An unblushing reck-
lessness of character is here specially
intended. D%92) x, lit. wo 10 their souls :
51, however, in innumerable passages,
signifies, as in the present instance,
themselves. See the Lexicons.—23 is
to be taken simply in the sense of
doing or bringing evil, and not in that
of maturing, as Michaelis proposes in
his Suppl. ad Lexx. Heb.

10, 11. As the text now stands, we
are almost tempted to adopt the Anti-

28

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. III.

12 As for my people, children are their oppressors,

And women lord it over them.

O my people! thy leaders cause thee to err,
They destroy the way of thy travellers.

13 Jehovah hath set himself to contend,
He standeth to judge the people.

14 Jehovah will enter into judgment

ptosis of Kocher, and render: Say ye
that it shall be well with the righteous ;
or, as Luther and Hitzig give it, Suy ye
of the righteous, &c.; but there is no
real difficulty in supposing, with the
Chald. and Syr., an ellipsis of > before
PIE, Just as °2 must be supplied before
v1, in the following line. A similar
ellipsis of ) occurs before 77M, Jer. ix.
2; and of Ὁ before 01x, Job xxxiii. 17.
Δήσωμεν, the reading of the LXX. has
arisen from the 9 in 12x, having been
mistaken for Ὁ, The words δήσωμεν
τὸν δίκαιον, ὅτι δύσχρηστος ἡμῖν ἐστι,
let us bind the Righteous One, for he
as tnconvenient to us: or, as Justin Mar-
tyr, Hegesippus, and Eusebius read,
ἄρωμεν τὸν δίκαιον, let us destroy the
Righteous One, are considered by many
of the fathers as a prophecy of Christ,
and the same view Dodson lamely
attempts to vindicate—The suffix in
> and v7, referring to PS, a collective
noun, is to be rendered in the plural,
to make it correspond with the plural
forms in the 10th verse, which are ex-
pletive of the corresponding collective.
So Luther.—These two verses furnish
a beautiful example of antithetic pa-
rallelism, in which the contraries of
persons, characters, actions, awards,
&c. are opposed to each other. The
pious are graciously assured, that in
the worst of times, and under the
most trying circumstances, God will
be their friend and rewarder; while
the ungodly are equally assured that
they shall suffer merited punishment.

12. rd is a collective, and thus
agrees with the plur. part. yiv2i—a,
more natural mode of construction
than to consider the latter as a plural
of excellence. The verb Y signifies
to return, to do any thing a second time,
thoroughly, or fully, to indulge one’s self
at the expense of another, to behave

hence DYN,

petulantly or saucily ;
For »2, comp.

petulant boys, ver. 4.
the Eth. 1.11}. Rex, Tyrannus, and
the Arab. ty , excitavit, compulit et

congregavit dispersos camelos, ἕο. In-
stead of Ὁ), women, the LXX., Aq.,
Theod., Chald., and Arab. read D3,
usurers, Which agrees well with vw2 ;
but the position of the word requires
it to correspond to 52», which the
former signification exactly suits. The
entire verse contains a further descrip-
tion of the extreme imbecility of the
government, at the time here predicted
—a description fully realized after the
death of Jotham. The two participles
ow and ON, are forcibly opposed
to each other: the former signifying,
to lead or direct forward in a straight
course ; the latter, to cause to wander
from the right way, into devious
courses, or into a trackless desert,
where nothing but destruction can
be expected, After DYN, supply 7q's,
and comp. Micah iii. 5. The way of
thy paths, 15 scarcely intelligible, except
it mean the direction which paths
take ; but there is no necessity for
rendering it in this manner, since
nim is used to denote caravans, or
companies of travellers, as well as the
paths which they pursue through the
desert. See Job vi. 18, 19; Isa. xxi.
13. Instead of conducting the people
in the right course, as the guide of
a caravan would do, the Jewish leaders
not only turned the people aside, but
effaced all traces of the way in which
they should have walked.

13, 14. ov do not here denote
foreign nations, but the tribes of
Israel, as Deut. xxxii. 8 ; xxxili. 3, 19;
Ps. xlvii. 10; Hos. x. 14; as the con-
text shews. Lowth supposes iY to

CHAP. III.]

ISATAH.

29

With the elders of his people, and their rulers.
For ye have eaten up the vineyard,
The spoil of the poor is in your houses.
15 What mean ye that ye crush my people,
And grind the persons of the poor ?
Saith the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts.

16 Moreover saith Jehovah :

be the true reading; yet, though
countenanced by the LXX. and Syr.
it is critically indefensible. 0337 is
used collectively of the vineyards.
That it is not to be altered to "23, my
vineyard, meaning the people, as the
Chald. renders it, appears from the
following words: 277 973, what has been
plundered from the poor. Jehovah, as
judge, calls the rulers to account for
the oppression and robbery of which
they had been guilty; to express
which summons, there is a sudden
turn in the composition from the pre-
dictive style to that of direct personal
address. The Yau in ON) is causal,
and the use of the separate pronoun
before the verb is, in such instances,
_ emphatic.

15. 0299, by contraction, for 02577,
as in the Keri, which a number of
Kenn. and De Rossi’s MSS. exhibit in
the text. Supply >. oy 25 denotes
not merely the faces, but the persons
of the poor, the poor themselves.
Luther die Person der Elenden. To
grind a person is expressive of the
greatest oppression, and corresponds
to thecomminution or crushing spoken
of immediately before. For an ampli-
fication of the subject, see Micah iii.
1—3.

16. The following eight verses con-
tain the most complete description of
Oriental female attire to be met with
in any ancient writing. It has been
thought by some, that, owing to the
change of fashion, and especially the
difference between ancient and modern
fashions in dress, every attempt to
explain the several items in this
inventory, must prove in a” great
measure fruitless.. The more, how-
ever, the fact of the immutability
of Eastern manners and customs is
established, by a comparison of their
present features with those described

as existing in former times; the more
minute the accounts furnished by mo-
dern travellers; and the greater the
progress which has been made in the
comparative philology of the Hebrew
and its kindred dialects; the more
definite and satisfactory have been the
results of the investigations that have
been instituted with a view to deter-
mine the meaning of the words here
employed. A very elaborate work on
the passage, was published by Nicol.
Guil. Schroeder, with a preface by the
celebrated Albert Schultens, intituled :
Commentarius Philologico - Criticus, de
Festitu Mulierum Hebrearum, ad Isaia,
iii. vers. 16—24, Lugd. Batav. 1745,
4to; which, so far as philology is
concerned, may be said to have
exhausted the subject.

Having at the outset charged the
Hebrew females with pride in general,
(1723,) Jehovah proceeds to specify the
external indications of it in their dress
and deportment.—ni3, for nv), as
the Keri reads, like τον, for ny, 1
Sam. xxv. 18. 3 is properly the
throat, but is here used for the fore-
part of the neck, which stretches and
becomes more visible when an effort
is made to toss up the head, or to
throw it back into the attitude of
haughtiness or pride. Instead of
nape, ogling, forty-two printed edi-
tions, and among them some of the
most accurate, eight of De Rossi’s
MSS., and one at first hand, read nyPw?,
lying or “acting falsely with their eyes ;”
but most MSS., the celebrated Spanish
codices, all the ancient editions, and
all the ancient versions, support the
common reading, which has also the
suffrages of Kimchi, Abarbanel, and
several of the ancient rabbins. ‘Three
of Kennicott’s MSS. have m7, with
Samech instead of Sin, which also goes
to increase the authority of the Textus

D

30

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. III.

Because the daughters of Zion are haughty,
And walk with outstretched necks and ogling eyes,
Mincing always as they walk, and tinkling with their feet:
17 The Lord will make bald the crown of the daughters of Zion,
Yea, Jehovah will expose their shame.
18 In that day the Lord will remove

Receptus. Lowth, approving of the
reading which exhibits Siz, renders
freely: “falsely setting off their eyes
with paint,” and supposes reference to
be made to the custom, so universal in
the East, of tinging the hair and
edges of the eyelids with stibium or
alkohol, in order to give a more impos-
ing appearance to the white of the
eye :—a practice, in deseribing which,
Ezek. employs the very word, "ΠΡ,
kéhal: F297, lit. “Thou soholest
thine eyes,” 1.6. paintest them with
kohol, xxiii. 40. This interpretation,
however, does not suit the other parts
of the verse, all of which describe
some action of the members of the
body, and not any action performed
upon them. The meaning is, therefore,

rightly given by Abulwalid: laces
sil, Lay> οἱ LeBp Ἰο]

lay, pel moist, Who ogle
with the eyes. The word is used of a
woman who flashes and flames with her
eyes; and the meaning is, she darts her

loots in a@ bold and lascivious manner.

Both the Chald. 779 and the Arab.
ys in the second Conj. express an

action of the eyes.

77, the Infin. absol. expresses con-
tinued or unceasing action. "PY, a
ἅπαξ hey. signifies, according to the

force of the Arab. ab and 8), fo

move nimbly or softly: hence, ἢ, a child,
from its short and light steps. It is
here descriptive of affected delicacy
in walking. The mas. suff. in 077927 is
not without effect; indicating, that
the noise which the women made with
their ankle-chains was totally at vari-
ance with the modestly retiring cha-
racter of the sex. One of De Rossi’s

Codd. reads 71, doubtless by correction.
For the obviously designed use of
masculine pronouns, to intimate the
incongruity of certain actions in refer-
euce to female character, see Judges
xix. 24; Ezek. xiii. 90.---ῦϑν, to make
a tinkling noise with the rings which
were worn round the ankles. See
ver. 18.

17. Many MSS., the Soncin. Bible,
and Soncin. Proph. of 1486, read 7™
instead of πὸ, both in this and the
following verse. That, in consequence
of the superstitious veneration of Jew-
ish transcribers for the sacred name,
the latter word has crept into many
passages which originally exhibited
mm, is now universally admitted among
Hebrew scholars. 722, causative, ‘to
make to full off. Compare nne0, the
scab or mange. The latter clause of
the verse describes the entire destitu-
tion of clothing, to which the gaudy
Hebrew females should be reduced, in
allusion to the ancient custom of
stripping captives naked, and driving
them in that state before their con-
querors. See Lowth, and comp. chap.
xlvii. 3; Nah. iii. 5, 6.

18. Dow, sing. D2Y, Arab. (ple, a
rope or string for binding the foot of a
rk, to twist, tie round.

It is used, Prov. vii. 22, of a ring or
fetter put upon the leg of a delinquent,
by way of punishment ; and here, of
the ornamental rings of gold, silver,
brass, ivory, &c. which, to this day,
Eastern females wear about their legs
and ankles. They are frequently
numerous, one above another; and,
slipping up and down, from the motion
made in walking, produce a tinkling
noise. Little bells are even attached
to them, or into such of them as are
hollow are put small pebbles, which
make the same tinkling sound. Cal-
met, Art. Periscelides; Parkhurst in

camel, from

CHAP. II. ]

ISAIAH.

The ornaments of the ankle-bands,
And the tasselled tresses and the crescents ;
19 The ear-pendents, and the bracelets, and the small veils;
20 'The turbans, and the stepping chains, and the girdles,
And the smelling-bottles and the amulets ;

voc. DY; Harmer’s Obser. chap. xi.
Obser. xlvii. That they were also
used by the Grecian and Roman ladies,
see Schroeder, pp. 14—17. Comp.
ver. 16.

oo, The apparently violent
transition from the leg or ankle rings
to the head-dress, at once disappears,
if we explain this word of braided
tresses of hair, such as those which
Pitts describes the loose women at
Cairo as wearing down to their very
heels, with little bells attached to
them at the end, which made a tink-
ling sound as they walked. D2 is
synonymous with 20 and wiv, 70
interweave, plait. The LXX. render
it κοσύμβους, which, besides other
significations, is used to denote tassels
hanging to the hem, or to the lower
part of a garment, and may have been
employed by them, in application to
the ends of the tresses resembling
such tassels. Schroeder's interpreta-
tion, soliculi, however ingeniously and
elaborately supported, is now generally
regarded to be untenable.—That the
following term, D7, means /unule,
crescents, or ornaments in the shape of
little moons, hung upon the neck, is as
generally admitted. These ornaments
were not peculiar to the women, but
were also worn by men and camels,
Jud. viii. 21, 26.

19. MDD), pendants or ear-drops, from
703, to drop,—peculiarly descriptive of
ornaments of pearl, gold, &c. hanging
from the ears in the shape of drops.—
These also were worn by men of rank,
Jud. viii. 26 —nin}, bracelets, or small
chains of gold or silver worn on the
arms, and perhaps in nothing differing
| from those called ony, Gen. xxiv. 22.
The word is derived from WW, fo twist

or bind about.—™My), Arab. ele cy ὃ par-

ticular kind of smadl thin veil, consist-
ing of two pieces, which were united
with clasps, near the eyes, and hung
down over the face to preserve it from

the sun. The name seems to be
derived from the tremulous motion
which they exhibited ; but the term
being closely connected with the pre-
ceding, more regard may be had. to
the elegance of the clasps, than to the
veils themselves.

20. DNNE, tiaras or turbans, a Species
of ornamental head-dress, to which
Eastern females are still very partial,
and which they generally arrange in
the most elegant manner—Mmv3, Arab,

eae, from Wy, fo march or walk in

a stately and measured manner, and
signifying walking or stepping chains.
Catena, qua captiworum pedes constrin-
guntur, ne amplos passus facient; catena
in pedibus mulierum, que ornamento tn-
servit. Freytag. They were fastened
to the legs, and were designed to
prevent long steps, and compel those
who used them to walk in the manner
described, ver. 16. From the cireum-
stance, that 77yzx, from the same root,
is used of a male ornament, worn on
the arm, 2 Sam. i. 10, (comp. Num.
xxxi. 50,) it has been supposed that
some such female ornament is meant:
and, indeed, by a slight change of the

letters in Arabic, Nae, Brachiale,

brachii vinculum vel ornamentum,
Gol. the same idea is brought out ;
yet still the meaning assigned above,
seems entitled to the preference. So
Schroeder, Gesenius, Rosenmiiller, and
Hitzig.— That op, signify female
girdles, is beyond dispute. The word
occurs only once besides ; viz. Jer. 1.
32, where, however, it is used, less
specifically, of such parts of female
dress as required binding. Comp. for
the use of the verb in Piel, Is. xlix.
18.—wen ona, lit, “houses of the
breath:” 1.6. smelling bottles, or boxes of
perfume, the eftect of which, when
inhaled, is to assist respiration. They
were suspended to a lace or belt, tied
round the waist. ™3, in Heb. signifies

32

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. III.

21 The finger-rings and the jewels of the nose.
22 The dress-vestments and the tunics ;

And the cloaks and the purses ;
23 The mirrors and the linen shifts ;

And the ribands and the large veils.

whatever contains any thing. oD»n,
from 72, in Piel, to mutter, use en-
chantments, denote amulets, consisting
of precious stones, plates of gold,
silver, &c. which were chiefly sus-
pended by chains round the neck, and
were supposed to possess the power
of preserving against diseases, witch-
craft, and all kinds of mischief.
Many of them were in the shape of
serpents. Such talismans are still
very common all over the East, and
form an indispensable part of female
attire.

21. nv20, a ring worn on one of the
fingers of the right hand, and contain-
ing a seal or signet with the name of
the possessor engraved on it. The
sub. 1s derived from 29, fo sink, or
cause to sink into a soft substance, to
impress With a seal, Esth. 111. 10. It
is equivalent to onin, Jer. xxii. 24; but
may here be taken to signify rings in
general, for wearing on the fingers.
—hx7 Ὁ). Some, after the LXX. τὸν
κόσμον Tov προσώπου, interpret this
of any kind of ornaments for the face;
but, as 032 signifies in the Arabic, Zo
perforate, and #8 strictly and properly
denotes the nose, there can be no
doubt, that nose-jewels or nose-rings are
meant, Comp. Ezek. xvi. 12; and
Prov. xi. 22. “It is the custom,”
says Sir John Chardin, “in almost all
the East, for the women to wear rings
in their noses, in the left nostril,
which is bored low down in the
middle. These rings are of gold, and
have commonly two pearls and one
ruby between, placed in the ring.”
See also Lowth’s Note. From the
perforating of the ears, 012 is likewise
used of earrings, Gen. xxxv. 4.

22, ΤΙΣ, splendid and pompous vest-
ments, gala dresses, worn only on special
occasions, and so called from their
being put off the moment such occa-
sions were over, in order to keep them
from being tarnished: yy, Arab. ws,

signifying, to pull or put off a garment.
Comp. Zech. iii. 4, where the word
denotes the costly and splendid robes
of the high-priest.—nipar, s/oles, or
wide tunics, worn over the common
ones, furnished with sleeves, and
reaching to the ankles. Root, 7, 70

cover, or clothe, Arab. wahee, Symm.,

ἀναβόλαια. ---- ΒΟ, ample cloaks, or
wide upper garments, worn at home
and on ordinary occasions. They

corresponded to the WKS, hyle, of

the Arabs, made of wool, commonly
about seven ells in length, by three in
breadth, and thrown loosely round the
body. Such was the large garment of
Ruth, which contained six measures of
barley; and Dr. Shaw informs us,
that finer sorts are still worn by the
ladies and persons of distinction
among the Arabs. Travels, p. 225.—
Don, pockets, or purses for holding
money and other small articles, 2

Kings v. 23; Arab. dey >, —conical

in form, of satin or velvet, and richly
ornamented with gold.

23. ™2*%3, Interpreters are here
chiefly divided between the significa-
tions mirrors, and transparent garments.
The latter is supported by the render-
ing of the LXX. διαφανῆ Λακωνικὰ, 1.6.
garments that might be seen through,
such as were worn by the indecent
Lacedemonian females ; and it might
appear very appropriate in application
to the dress of the wanton Hebrew
females in the time of Isaiah ; but, as
"2, in the singular, signifies a smooth,
polished tablet, chap. viii. 1, the
former interpretation is preferable.
The mirrors of the Hebrews were
round in form, provided with a handle,
and made of brass or mixed metal,
highly polished; and the females
doubtless carried them about with
them, as do the dancing girls in Jndia,
and as the females used to do in Egypt

CHAP. 111.}

ISAIAH.

33

24 And instead of perfume shall be putridity ;
And instead of a girdle, a rope ;
And instead of braided hair, baldness ;
And instead of the wide-flowing mantle, a wrapper of sackcloth ;

A brand instead of beauty.

25 Thy men shall fall by the sword ;

And thy forces in war.

26 Her gates shall lament and mourn,

and Greece, at certain idolatrous festi-
vals. Comp. Exod. xxxviii. 8.—o'y70,
under-garments or shifts of fine linen,
cotton, or gauze, worn next the body ;

from 710, Arab.

1D, wo laxavit, demisit
vestem suum, to let the garment hang
loose.—Mb22, ribands, chiefly used for
binding the braided tresses of the
hair round the head, or sashes of fine
linen bound round the bottom of the
tiara.—_OTN), large veils, thrown over
the head, and descending over the
other garments to the feet. They
were worn when the females went
abroad, and were more exposed to the
gaze of spectators. Comp. Song v.
7. Root, ™, to bring down, subdue:
hence, the idea of power, subjection to
power ; and the veil, as the mark of
such subjection, expressed by the
much contested term, ἐξουσία, 1 Cor.
xi. 10. See Bloomfield in loc.

24. There is here a sudden turn in
the address ; but instead of dropping
the subject, it is presented under a
new and aggravating form. Not only
were all the articles of finery to be
removed, but every thing that was
coarse, vulgar, and disgusting, was
to supply their place. p92 or ῬῸ, rotten-
ness, or a fetid smell—the very opposite
of the 0a contained in the smelling
bottles, ver. 20.—7873, from ἢ), fo sur-
round, bind round, a cord or rope tied
round the waist.—tv7o Ww», braided
work, i.e. hair artificially made up into
braids, and interwoven and stiffened
with ribands and other materials.
See ver. 18. Root, πῦρ, fo stiffen,
make hard.—?7n2 occurs only here,
and is of uncertain derivation. The
most probable is that which regards
it as compounded of ‘78, from 72, to
be wide, eapanded, and 72, to be or move

round; a full mantle, flowing all round
the body.—7v, coarse haircloth, used
for sacks, and worn in time of mourn-
ing, or by the very poorest, in lieu of
other clothing —® nqn72, There is a
peculiar beauty in the terseness with
which the whole description thus con-
cludes. 3, though only found in this
place as a noun, is evidently used to
signify brand or burnt mark, being
regularly formed from ΠῚ, fo burn, as

+t)

Ἢ from my, Ἢ from mm, το. pe
} }.adt}. ultimum morbi remedium
Ip lol)

cauter est. Meidan.. Proverb. iv.
sil us εν} Lisl, et morbum ad

cauterium pervenisse. Hariri Con-
sen. xxix. As the whole verse de-
scribes the deplorable condition of
female captives led away by their
conquerors, the brand is to be under-
stood of the στίγματα, or marks which
it was customary to burn into the
foreheads of prisoners and slaves.

25, 26. Here Jerusalem is first
directly addressed, and then her deso-
late condition is aptly depicted. By
an unexpected transition, the destruc-
tion of the males becomes the subject
of a brief, but affecting notice. 2,
military force, used collectively for
mighty warriors. The gates being
entirely deserted, are represented bya
prosopopeeia, as indulging in grief, the
intensity of which is expressed by
the synonymes, 738 and %28.—TDp,
cleared, i.e. completely emptied of
inhabitants. Nothing could be more
expressive than the metaphorical re-
presentation of Jerusalem, sitting like
a disconsolate female on the ground:
and it is very remarkable, that on
Roman medals, struck by order of

94

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. IV.

And, emptied, she shall sit on the ground.

CHAPTER IV.

1 And seven women shall lay hold on one man in that day, saying :
We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel :
Only let us be called by thy name,

To take away our reproach.

Titus, in commemoration of his con-
quest of Jerusalem, and the entire
destruction of the Jewish polity,
Judea actually appears in the posture
of a female sitting on the ground,
under a palm tree, and giving way to
inconsolable grief. See Horne’s Introd.
vol. i. pp. 215, 216. The prophecy
doubtless received its accomplishment
in the Babylonish captivity ; though
the language is equally applicable to
that inflicted by the Romans. Comp.
Ps ΟΣ ΧΙ 1: am, iy 1:

CuapteR IV.—1. This verse is so
intimately connected with the pre-

ceding, that the division of thechapters
here is most unhappy. Such should
be the carnage of the war, ver. 25,
that there would be no proportion of
men left ; and as the Hebrews regarded
celibacy as a reproach, rather than
incur such reproach, a number of
females are here described as immo-
destly importuning one man to marry
them, that they might have the honour
of standing in the relation of wives to
him, though they renounced all claim
upon him for support. That it was
customary for the wife to be named
after the husband, see Gen. xii. 17;
zlyiwl93 2:Samaat. 3;

CHAPTER IV.

Having depicted the wickedness of the Jews, and the awful judgments with
which it would be punished, the prophet devotes this short chapter to an
announcement of the glory and felicity of the church in the time of

Messiah.

2 In that day the Branch of Jehovah
Shall be beautiful and glorious ;

2. samy DV3, af or after that period;
viz. of universal desolation. The pre-
position 2 does not always. strictly
express what is contained within any
given time or space; it also points out
nearness, society, or accompaniment,
that which is in connexion with, or
which follows upon something else.
In prophetic vision, the two states of
adversity and prosperity were so closely

connected, that one period might be
said to comprehend them both. See
chap. x. 20, and Zech. xii. xiii. xiv.
where the phrase is used of events
partly coeval, and partly successive.
mm ΤΌΣ, according to all the other
passages in which a Mx, Branch, is
promised, must be taken in a personal
sense. See Jer. xxiii. 5; xxxili. 15;
Zech. 111. 8; vi. 12; and comp. Is. xi.

CHAP. IV.]

ISATAH.

And the Fruit of the earth, excellent and splendid

To the escaped of Israel.
3 And he that is left in Zion,
And remaineth in Jerusalem,

Shall be called holy :

Every one who is enrolled to life in Jerusalem.

1; ln. 2; Ezek: xxxiv. 29. Nor is it
possible for any one impartially to
examine the connexion and bearing
of these passages without perceiving,
that the person therein predicted or
promised is no other thanthe Mrssrau.
Thus, the Targ. "7 xmwo, Kimchi,
Vitringa, Lowth, Rosenmiller, and
Hengstenberg in his Christol. That
mim ΤΌΣ means the same as ON 13, the
Son of God, receives confirmation from
the Oriental appropriation of the term
Branch, to signify descent. Thus,
Silvestre de Sacy, in his “Mémoires
sur Diverses Antiquités de la Perse,’
p. 94:—“This expression, branch of,
denoting ‘of the race of, is very
common in the books of the Persians.
Zoroaster is there called the Branch
of Minochehr; Yezdejerd, the Branch
of Sassan; Gustasp, the Branch of
Kéan,’ &c. The occurrence of ma?
own, “to the escaped Israelites,” pre-
sents an insuperable objection to the
interpretation of Grotius, Michaelis,
Gesenius, Hitzig, and others, that the
pious remnant of the Jews are meant.
Since it is expressly predicted, that to
this very remnant, the Branch was to
be beautiful and glorious, it is manifest
they cannot be identical. It has been
thought, however, that to explain “2
yus7, “the Fruit of the earth,” of the
Messiah, would be intolerably harsh.
Yet, if we understand jx to stand, by
synecdoche, for the inhabitants of the
earth, i.e. men, which is a figure not
unusual in Scripture, the harshness is
at once removed, and the same anti-
thetical view of the origin of the
Messiah’s person is given, which we
find Rom. ix. 5. The passage thus
contains a prediction of the divine and
human natures of our Lord, similar to
what we find in chap. vii. 14 ; ix. 5. (6.)
John the Baptist likewise employs the
phrase, ὁ ὧν ἐκ τῆς γῆς, John iii. 31, to
denote one who is simply a partaker

of humanity, while he describes the
Messiah, whose human nature he takes
for granted, as 6 ἄνωθεν ἐρχόμενος.
Comp. Luke i. 78, where our Saviour
is called ἀνατολὴ ἐξ ὕψους, 1.6. MX,
which the LXX. have rendered ἀνα-
τολὴ, Jer, xxiii. 5; Zech. iii. 8; vi. 12.
—While all human pride was to be
stained, and all human ornaments to
be removed, every true Israelite would
find in the Messiah a plenitude of
glory and splendour. 72%», “The
escaped,” seems to refer rather to
those who should be delivered from
the corrupt body of the nation, τὸ
κατάλειμμα of the Apostle, Rom. ix.
27, than to such as either remained in
Judea, or returned from captivity.
Comp. Zeph. iii. 11, 12. The 2 before
the four first nouns converts them
into adjectives, as Lam. iv. 3. ‘293
wy), “the daughter of my people is Zo
ὦ cruel one; 1.6. is cruel.”

3. WEN and WT are collective par-
ticiples, and form the nom. absol.;
and agree with 70% in the foregoing
verse, which is also a collective. i?
is to be taken in the N. T. sense of
dyos,—reference being made to the
times of the Messiah. ‘2x has here
the idiomatic sense of 83}, fo call, i.e.
to be what one is called. 227 52 is
in apposition with the preceding par-
ticiples ; and O17? 22 corresponds to
τεταγμένοι εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον, Acts xiii.
48; and γέγραπται ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τῆς
ζωῆς, Rey. xiii. 8; but not to Exod.
Xxxil. 32, though this last passage no
doubt furnished the type both of the
idea and the phraseology. Dan. xii.
1, is perfectly parallel with this text
in Isaiah. The verse describes the
exalted character for moral purity,
which should distinguish those whom
God would acknowledge as his future
people, and on whom he would confer
salvation.

90

ISATAH.

[CHAP. IV.

Jerusalem from the midst of her,

4 When the Lord washeth away the filth of the daughters of Zion,
And cleanseth out the blood of
With the spirit of judgment, and the spirit of burning ;
5 Then shall Jehovah create
Upon every station of Mount Zion,
And upon her places of convocation,
A cloud and a smoke by day ;
And the brightness of a flaming fire by night ;
Which shall be over all the glory for protection :
6 And a tabernacle shall be for shade by day from the heat ;

And for a refuge and a covert,
From storm and from rain.

4, 5, —Ox, when—then: pointing out
the connexion between the spiritual
purification that Jehovah would effect,
and the Divine protection which he
graciously promises.— Kz is the most
expressive term that could have been
employed to denote the loathsomeness
of moral pollution. 27123, as a geo-
graphical phrase, would signify towns
and villages lying round and depend-
ent on Zion, and so Rosenmiiller and
Hengstenberg understand it in this
passage ; but it is clearly to be taken,
as in chap. 111. 16, for the female inha-
bitants. In like manner, 074 stands
for “723, ‘the sons of Jerusalem,’ 7.¢.
the male inhabitants, who are more
appropriately charged with the shed-
ding of blood. The LXX. supply
freely: τῶν υἱῶν καὶ τῶν θυγατέρων
Σιών. ™, in this passage, is almost
pleonastic, only it gives force to the
words with which it is in construction,
just as %22 and oxy do, The judgment
and the burning would be of the
severest kind. Comp. Mal. iii. 1—4.
qva is the Infin. nomin. in Piel. 2 is
omitted before }22 in six MSS., but it
is expressed in all the ancient versions ;
and instead of πο in the sing. up-
wards of forty MSS. and nearly fifty
printed editions read πο. in the
plur. The language is universal in its
character, and is inapplicable to any
period except that of the gospel dis-
pensation. The earthly Jerusalem was

no longer to be the station to which
men should repair for worship; but to
all places where the true worshippers
of Jehovah should meet in holy con-
vocation, he promises to vouchsafe his
presence and protection. Mal. i, 10,
11; John iv. 21—23; Matt. xviil. 20;
1 Cor. i. 2. The figurative reference
is to the pillar of cloud, and the pillar
of fire, in which the Lord went before
the Israelites in the wilderness, and to
the glory which rested upon the taber-
nacle, Exod. xiii. 21, 22; xl. 38. 3 is
used here as a relative pronoun.
Gesen. Lex. Man.—87 is properly the
canopy of the nuptial couch, but is
here employed in the sense of protec-
tion, from the Pual of 759, fo cover,
hence ἕο protect, like #7. By 22 is
meant the transcendently glorious
state of the church under the Messiah,
as contrasted with her condition under
Moses—a glory which is not to be
done away, but is to remain, 2 Cor.
iii. 7—11, as the result of Divine pro-
tection. The omission of % before
22 in a few MSS. is not entitled to
any consideration.

6. So great was to be the care of
God over his people, that every ad-
vantage should be afforded them in
the way of constant defence from the
inconveniences and dangers to which
they might be exposed. Comp. Zech.
ii, 5.

CHAP. V.|

ISAIAH.

37

CHAPTER V.

This chapter contains a parabolic reprehension of the Jews for their irreligious
and wicked conduct, 1—7 ; a specification of particular sins which abounded
at the time, such as avarice, inebriety, perversion of right and wrong, self-
conceit, and injustice, 8—23; a denunciation of Divine judgments, 24, 25 ;
and a description of the agents by whom these judgments would be inflicted,

26—30.

1 Come, I will sing to my Beloved
A song of my Love touching his vineyard ;

My Beloved had a vineyard
Upon a fertile peak.

2 He dug it theroughly and cleared it of stones,
And planted it with the vine of Sorek ;
And he built a tower in the midst of it,
And also hewed out a wine-vat in it:

1. The prophet commences with a
beautiful parable of a vineyard, most
advantageously situated, with which
every pains had been taken by the
owner ; but which totally disappointed
his expectations, and was in conse-
quence abandoned to desolation.—va
after §2,in one of Kennicott’s Codd.
is an emendation. The form, “ 77x,
is that used elsewhere, and the whole
sentence is equally elegant without
the emendation, of which Lowth ap-
proves. The same usage shews, that
? is simply the sign of the dative, and
not the preposition signifying ἐμ refer-
ence to, respecting, &c. which is the
construction of many interpreters.
The 4 paragogic in 77s forcibly ex-
presses the desire of the speaker
towards the action predicated. Be-
tween PT and °7\7 there is no difference
of signification in this place. Both
designate Jehovah, who was the object
of the song, inasmuch as it was designed
to vindicate his conduct towards his
people; and, at the same time, its
author, inasmuch as it was dictated
by his Spirit. 2, properly ὦ horn, but
applied metaphorically, as the term is
in many other languages, to a pointed
hill or mountain, especially such as
juts out so as to form a promontory.
See Lowth, who supposes the image to

be taken from Mount Tabor; and
comp. .the Arab. olyss vertex montis,

wy? 5)» parvus mons, aliis pars

montis cetera parte separata. We
are not, however, to imagine that the
whole hill was covered with vines ;
probably only that part of it was
thus occupied, which was most shel-
tered from the wind, and exposed to
the sun. To express the great fertility
of the hill, it is called ΚΟ, @ soz of
oil or fatness, i.e. fat, fertile, according
to a common idiom in Heb. by which
a thing is said to be the son of what-
ever quality it possesses.

2. The digging expressed by Γῆν, is
that which was necessary in order to
loosen the stones that were afterwards
to be cleared away, to make room for
the vines. 7D, to gather and cast stones
out of a field. Several interpreters,
after the LXX. understand both this
and the preceding verb to refer to the
forming of a trench, and a wall round
the vineyard, but contrary to the
force of the terms. Pi, Sorel, the
name of a valley between Askelon and
Gaza, probably so called, because of
its abounding in vines: 77%, signifying,
to intertwine as the shoots or tendrils
of the vine, and pw, shoots or tendrils

Ε

38 ISATAH.

[CHAP. V.

And then expected it to produce grapes,

But it produced bad grapes.

3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,
Judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard.
4 What more could have been done to my vineyard

Than I have done to it ?

Why, when I expected it to produce grapes,

Did it produce bad grapes ?
Well now, I will tell you

or

What I will do to my vineyard:
‘I will remove its fence, and it shall become a pasture ;
I will demolish its wall, and it shall be trodden down ;

thus intertwined, Gen. xlix.11. The
word is used by Jeremiah to denote a
vine of noble or excellent quality,
chap. 1]. 21, which is not without reason

supposed to be the «9 »"» Sherki,

which Hést found in “Morocco, the
grapes of which the Persiansand Turks

call οὐδ Kishmish. They are

’
small in size, reddish in colour, with
small or scarcely any stones, and have

a very sweet taste. Comp. a dye
vitis generosa, Gol.; (Ὁ) dy which Abul-

walid describes as the noblest vine,
growing in Syria, Gesenius zz Joe.;

and ae of the Arab. ver. Gen.

xlix. 11. The LXX. Aq. and Theod.
retain the word σωρήκ;; but Symm.
renders it ἐκλεκτήν, choice, excellent.
The 2329, fower, was built for the pur-
pose, not only of watching the vine-
yard, but also of accommodating the
owner during the vintage,and contained
the various implements used in culti-
vating the vine, and preparing the
wine. By 37 is properly meant the
lower vat or trough, situated near the
wine-press, in which the grapes were
trodden, and into which the juice
flowed as it was pressed out. It was
called Anvos by the Greeks ; and from
its inferior position to the n3, or wine-
press, the LXX. commonly render it
ὑπολήνιον. From the circumstance,
however, that no mention is here made
of the latter, the 37 may include both,

as it certainly does in the plural, Job
xxiv. 11. It is said to have been hewn
out, because a subterraneous cistern or
vat was necessary for the coolness of
the situation. Such cisterns were
sometimes so large, that the term
λάκκος, lacus, lake, came to be applied
to them. The words of our Lord’s
parable, ὥρυξεν ὑπολήνιον kal ὠκοδόμησε
πύργον, Mark xii. 1, are parallel in
sense to those employed by Isaiah.—
ora has been variously rendered.
The LXX. and Theod. ἀκάνθας ; Symm.
Serie

ἀτελῆ; Aq. σαπριαὶ. Syr. 1>Q}a0,
coroobs, the ceratonia siliqua of Lin-
neeus. Jerome: dabruscas, wild vines.
The idea of bad or worthless grapes
seems that which is best supported.
The root, tx3, signifies to give an
offensive smell, be odious, bad, &c.

3. In the true style of parable, the
application is reserved for the close ;
so that the call made in this verse for
a decision from the very people whose
conduct it was designed to expose, is
introduced with great effect and beauty.
They are virtually called upon to con-
demn themselves. Comp. 2 Sam. xii.
1—6; Matt. xxi. 40.—20Y and Wx are
collectives.

5. No mention is made of ΠΡ or
ὙΠ in the account of the formation of
the vineyard ; but they are introduced
here for the sake of immediate effect.
The latter word denotes a wall of
stones or clay; the former, a thorn
hedge, planted outside the other, for
the sake of greater protection. The
finite form of the verbs is understood

ME, eee

CHAP. V.|

6 1 will lay it entirely waste ;

ISATAH. 39

It shall neither be pruned nor weeded,
But thorns and briers shall grow up in it;

And 1 will charge the clouds
Not to pour any rain upon it.

7 For the vineyard of Jehovah of hosts is the house of Israel ;
And the men of Judah are his pleasant plantation.
He expected justice, but behold! bloodshed!
Righteousness, but behold! outery!

8 Wo to them that join house to house,

That add field to field,

Till no place remains,

And ye are left to dwell by yourselves in the land.
9 In my ears Jehovah of Hosts hath revealed it:

after the infin. 32 is the Infin. nomin.
and is to be rendered as a noun.

6. 703, from nna, to cut off, make an
end of, desolate, destroy, means complete
desolation. It should have been pointed
with a Dagesh compensative, in the n,
as we find the plural nin3q 52, valleys
completely desolate, chap. vi. 19.—
The Ὁ in ὙΠῸ has the force of a
negative.

7. The prophet now makes a direct
application of the parable—introducing
it by the particle 33, which expresses
the certainty of the thing declared.
Though the ten tribes originally be-
longed to the vineyard of Jehovah,
yet, as they had cut themselves off
from it by revolt and idolatry, it is
not likely that the phrase x1 ΤΡ, is
here used in application to them. It
seems rather to be employed as a
poetic parallel to the following 1777 wx,
—hboth signifying the inhabitants of
the kingdom of Judah. 073, in con-
nexion with the following rrwyw, has

all the force of the Arab. ys to

possess generosity of nature, be noble,
excellent. The latter Hebrew word,
being reduplicate in form, is expres-
sive of the highest degree of delight.
ἜΞΩ and ΠΕ; MPI and NAVs, are
instances of studied paronomasia, or
play upon words, in which our prophet
abounds; see particularly chap. xxiv.
—but they can seldom be successfully
imitated in a translation—newn, from

ΤΡ τ ΠΕΡ, Arab,
blood.

8. Having stated in general terms
the atrocious wickedness of the Jews,
which corresponded to the bad grapes
in the parable, the prophet proceeds
to denounce Divine judgments against
particular sins. In 17—’y22 is an
instance of a proposition commencing
with a participle, and being continued
in the future of a finite verb,—a mode
of construction not uncommon in
Hebrew. See Gesen. Lehrgeb. p. 802.—
For opr, seven Codd. prim. one, and
now one, the early Edd. of Soncin. and
Brix. and fifteen other Edd. read dara
in Hiphil; but the Hophal conjugation
alone suits the connexion. It is found
in the best Codd. and in most of the
old Edd. The change of person, for
the purpose of direct address, however
abrupt, is not unusual with our pro-
phet.—The monopoly of houses and
landed property was diametrically
opposed to the spirit of the Mosaic
law, and a virtual infraction of the
enactment relative to the year of
jubilee ; but such was the perversion
of justice, that the rich, if they were
not aided by those who should have
administered it, were, at least, suffered
quietly to dispossess the poor, and
accumulate property in the most un-
righteous manner.

“9. For -ns3, in my ears, three of De
Rossi’s MSS. one at first hand, and

ems to pour out, shed

40

ISAIAH.

[CHAR vy.

Verily, the numerous houses shall become a desolation,
The large and fine ones shall be without inhabitants.

10

For ten acres of vineyard shall produce only one bath,

And a homer of seed shall produce but an ephah.

il

Wo to them who, early in the morning, run after strong drink :

Who, late at night, inflame themselves with wine.

12

And the lyre and the harp, the tabret and the pipe,

And wine compose their feasts ;
But the operation of Jehovah they do not consider,
Nor do they regard the work of his hands.

apparently another, Munster’s Edd. of
1534 and 1546, the Basel Polyglott of
Isaiah, read "2183, iz the ears of Jehovah
of hosts; and this is the rendering of
the LXX.and Arab. That the true
pointing is that of the Textus Recep-
tus, appears from chap. xxii. 14, where
the ellipsis of 732) is supplied, and a
sense produced, which is at once easy
and appropriate. If the word ever
existed in this passage, it must have
dropped out at a very early period,
since the LXX. could not possibly
have rendered it ἠκούσθη ; a rendering,
however, which several translators
have adopted, from not adverting to
the parallel passage above quoted.—
ΜΌΝ is a formula of swearing ; but
instead of a negative, it has a strongly
affirmative meaning. See chap. xiv.
24; Numb. xiv. 28; Josh. xiv. 9.—In
yse, the is used τελικῶς, in the
signification: “so that there shall
not be.”

10. Here the causes of the desolation
are assigned—a complete failure of the
vintage and harvest, and consequent
famine. 12% was properly the yoke,
by which two oxen were bound to-
gether ; but it came to be used meta-
phorically of the quantity of ground
which they could plough in a day;
and, as in the present instance, of
such a quantity altogether irrespective
of ploughing.—na, the bath, was a
liquid measure, and, according to
Josephus, Antiq. viii. 2, 9, contained
seventy-two sextarii, or about seven
gallons four pints of our measure.
The ὙΠ, homer, was a dry measure
equal to ten ephahs, Ezek. xlv. 11, and
is not to be confounded with the 79%,

omer, which was only the tenth part of
an ephah. The 728 was likewise a dry
measure, and according to Josephus,
Antiq. xv. 9,2, was equal to the
Attic medimnus, or about six pecks,
corresponding to the bath in liquids.
A succession of such seasons as that
here threatened, must have produced
universal ruin.

11,12. The participles, 7202 and.
“ms, are used adverbially. For the
prefixing of 2 before the second of two
nouns in construction, see chap. 1x. 2;
xxi, 13. From this passage, and
Eccles. x. 16, 17, we see that early
drinking was considered by the Jews,
as it was by the Romans, a mark of
the most depraved sensuality. Bet-
ween 12% and 1" there is this difference,
that while the latter is never used of
any other liquor than the produce of
the grape, the former is employed to
denote any kind of inebriating liquor,
whether prepared from grapes, or from
dates, barley, or honey. It is, how-
ever, the stronger of the two terms,
and seems purposely placed in con-
nexion with the morning, in order to
aggravate the abandoned character of
the drunkards here described. The
Targum renders it: PY Von, old wine.
As 2 signifies the morning as well as
the evening ¢wilight, some interpreters
adopt the former signification ; but
from the contrast here presented, it is
better to understand it of the evening,
—only carrying forward the idea to
that of night, as chap. xxi. 4; lix. 10.

LXX. τὸ ὀψέ. Syr. PCE vesper.

Comp. Prov. xxiii. 30, and the quota-
tion in Gesenius from the Book of

CHAP. V.|

ISATAH.

41

13 Therefore my people are led captive at unawares ;

Their nobility are starvelings,

And their multitude are parched with thirst.
14 Therefore Sheol enlarges its appetite,
And gapes immeasurably with its mouth ;
And down go her nobility and her multitude,
Her noisy throng, and whoever was in her that exulted.

Adam, ver. 20, where the same Syriac
word, |#S03, occurs. The ellipsis of

a must be supplied. For the use of
musical instruments at feasts, see Job
xxi. 12, and Amos vi. 3—6, a passage
strikingly parallel with the present,
and beautifully illustrated in a drawing
taken from a tomb at Thebes, in Wil-
kinson’s Ancient Egyptians, vol. 1. p.
222. The sensual Jews, in the time
of the prophet, appear to have em-
ployed musicians, and all kinds of
merry-makers, as dancers, mimics,
buffoons, &c. such as are still common
all over the East. Sensual indulgences
steel the heart against religious im-
pressions, and cause their victims to
sport on the very brink of ruin. This
is implied in the last clause of the
verse, in which its effect is stated to
be inattention to alarming dispensa-
tions of Divine Providence.

13. To describe the certainty of the
event, the prophet represents the Jews
as already carried away into captivity ;
and to express the suddenness of the
calamity, and its overtaking them
while carelessly occupied with their
festive enjoyments, he employs the
phrase, ΠΟΥ 30, It is true this phrase
means ignorance as the cause of cala-
mity, Hos. iv. 6; but there the article
is inserted, and the connexion obvi-
ously requires this construction ;—
whereas in the present case, the cause
being referred to by the use of 723, at
the beginning of the verse, the idea
of suddenness or unexpectedness is
more appropriate. Comp. Ps. xxxv.
8; Jud. xx. 34; Jer. 1. 24.—113, glory,
abstr. for concrete; zobility, nobles,
Comp. chap. viii. 7; x. 3. IPN, men
of starvation, for starvelings, as X)O°T7,
men of falsehood, for false or deceitful ;
“Boon, men of number, for few, το.
This noun has no singular, except in

compound names, in which it is also

Comp. GBT,

maritus, in the Ethiopic version of the
Polyg. Matt.i.19. The punctuation
Ὁ, dead, of famine, adopted by Mi-
chaelis and some others, after the
Targ. is to be rejected on account of
its not agreeing so well with the
phrase, 822 az, in the following
hemistich. The reading 793, instead
of xo, found in the Heb. Bible of Van
der Hooght, and in that of Forster,
which follows it, is not in any MS. nor
in any other printed editions.

14, 3x0. Various derivations have
been offered of this word. Some
propose 988, fo ask, demand, comparing
Prov. xxx. 15,16, with oreusrapaz, Catull.
11. 28, 29, and ἁρπακτὴρ, Callim. ep. ii.
6; others derive it from the Arab.

Ls, or ο) ὦ, to sink down, descend;

and appeal for support to the Chald.
m0, fundum, imum ret. Gesenius thinks
it is put for ἦν, which he renders
cavity, a hollow subterranean place, and
invests both ‘x, and %, with the
signification of being hollow, though
he is unable to produce any instances
of actual usage in support of it. See
on the subject, Scheid’s very learned
Dissert. in Canticum Hiskize, pp. 20—
43. But whatever difficulty there may
be in settling the derivation of the
term, there is little in determining its
application in the Hebrew Scriptures,
in which it is used with the same
latitude of signification as the Greek
“Adns—designating the invisible place or
abode of the dead, the locality or condi-
tion to which all are removed on
leaving this world. As it includes
the grave to which the body is re-
moved at death, it came to be con-
ceived and spoken of as situateddn or
below the earth, ὑποκάτω τῆς γῆς, Rev.

found in the Punic,

42

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. Y.

The man of mean condition is bowed down,

And the man of rank is brought low;
And the eyes of the haughty are humbled.

But Jehovah of Hosts is exalted through justice,

And the Holy God is sanctified through righteousness.

The lambs shall feed wherever they are driven,

And the waste fields of the rich, strange flocks shall consume.

Wo to them that draw calamity with cords of iniquity,

And punishment as with the ropes of a cart.

19
may sce it ;

v. 3; and such as inhabit it are called
καταχθονίοι, those who inhabit the under-
world, Phil. ii, 10. It was regarded as
a vast and profound subterranean
region, the entrance to which was
furnished with gates and bars, into
which men went down, and from
which there was no return to the
present world. In this verse, Sheol
(which I have retained in the transla-
tion, it being the original term, and
quite as intelligible as the exotic
Greek, Hades) is represented by one
of the boldest prosopopeias as a
hideous monster, with an immense
mouth and insatiableappetite, swallow-
ing down greedily a whole nation, and
all that pertained to it. For other
sublime poetical representations of
Sheol, see chap. xiv. 9—20; Ezek.
xxvi. 20; xxxi. 14—18; xxxii. 18—32.
The prediction received its fulfilment
when Nebuchadnezzar carried the
Jews into captivity in Babylon, and
left none but the poor of the people,
that had nothing, in the land. 2 Chron.
xxxvi. 20; Jer. xxxix. 10. Between the
description of the sin, the punishment
‘of which is here threatened, and the
language describing the punishment
itself, there exists a striking analogy.
Those who indulged in feasting, drink-
ing, and jollity, were to be subject to
famineand thirst,and to become food for
the rapacious enemy. The fem. suff. 5,
in the last instances, refers to Zion
understood. Before ty, subaud. Wx.
15, 16. The language of these verses
is nearly parallel with that of chap.
ii. 9,11, 17. The humiliation of the
wicked by the infliction of Divine

That say: Let him be quick, let him hasten his work that we

judgments, and the glory accruing to
Jehovah from the same, is the subject
common to both—ti72. God is said
to be sanctified when the holiness of
his character is displayed, acknow-
ledged, or proclaimed. Such is emi-
nently the result of the just punish-
ment of his enemies.

17. This verse describes the con-
sumption of the deserted estates of
the wealthy Jews, by the flocks of the
nomadic tribes, for whose entrance
into the country way should be made
by the removal of the inhabitants.—
D779, the regular infin., with suffix, of
Wy, to drive flocks or herds out to pasture.
Comp. Micah ii. 12. Much the same
meaning is expressed by Lowth, who
renders “without restraint,’ but his
version does not give the exact force
of the Hebrew.—The conjectural em-
endation of 093 into Ὁ 3, which the
Bishop adopts, after Durell and
Secker, is quite unwarranted: the
plural of 73 being 0773, and not 073,
There can be little doubt that ἄρνες,
of the LXX., was suggested by Ὁ Ὁ39
occurring immediately before. Symm.

mar oO

has πάροικοι; the Syr. [okos, pere-
grint; and the Vulg. advene; but 072
being parallel with 029, it must be
interpreted of flocks, and not of per-
sons.—D'M9, fat ones,i. e. rich persons,
like yyw 2t3, the fat of the earth, Ps.
XXxli. 30.

18, 19. In Heb. the words ΤῊΝ, 7837,
neon, iv, ὅσο. signify not only szz, iné-
quity, &c. but also punishment, calamity,
misery, a8 the consequences of moral
evil. Ps. xxxi. 11; Prov. xxii. 8 ; Isa.

CHAP. Υγ.]

ISAIAH.

43

And let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near and

come, that we may know it.

20 Wo to those that call evil good, and good evil,
That put darkness for light, and light for darkness ;
That put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.

21 Wo to them that are wise in their own eyes,

And prudent in their own estimation.

xl. 2; Lam. 111. 39; Zech. xiv. 19; and
such would seem to be the signification
of ἣν, and πρῖθττ, in this passage. The
idea of drawing out, or continuing in
the practice of sin, and thereby accu-
mulating it, like a rope-maker, who
continually adds to his materials, first
suggested by Houbigant, and approved
by Lowth, is quite forced :—having no
other ground than the simple occur-
rence of the terms cords and ropes;
which are manifestly spoken of as
implements, by the use of which the
action was performed, and not them-
selves the subjects of the operation.
Besides, it is at variance with the
following context. The meaning is,
that the persons described were not
satisfied with ordinary modes of pro-
voking the Diety, and the consequent
ordinary approach of his vengeance,
but, as it were, yoked themselves in
the harness of iniquity, and putting
forth all their strength, drew down
upon themselves with accelerated speed
the load of punishment which their
sins deserved.—Instead of "2273, ove of
De Rossi’s MSS., the LXX., Arab., Aq.,
Symm., Theod., and the Syr. read
“m3; and, on the contrary, instead of
maya, fourteen MSS., and probably two
others, and the printed edit. of Soncin.
have ni1¥2; but the change makes little
or no difference in the sense, and the
one preposition is very frequently
understood in connexion with the
other. Were it not that it is wholly
unsupported by critical evidence, the
conjecture might be hazarded, that in
nov, the 1 has taken the place of }, (a
mistake very easily made by a tran-
scriber,) and that the word originally
read ADP, wickedness—in which case
the passage would stand thus :—

NUT wana PPT wa A
ΤΉΝΕ TW MAY?)

“Wo to them who draw calamity with
cords of iniquity,

And punishment with ropes of wick-

kedness.”

There would thus be a perfection in
the parallelism, which is at present
wanting; but the same sense is
brought out by the present reading of
the text, which is that of all the MSS.
and versions.—The language of the
19th verse is. the only construction
that could be put upon the conduct
of the wicked Jews, spoken of in that
which precedes it. They scoffingly
dared the Holy One to carry his
threatenings into execution. Comp.
chap. xxviil. 14, 15; Jer. xvii. 15. The
7 in TOTP, is a rare instance of the
Optative mood in the third person
of a verb.

20, 21. The Article is understood as
repeated before Dnw. Gesen. in his
Commentary, refers to a passage re-
markably parallel in the Zabian Book
of Adam, published by Prof. Norberg.
of Lund, 1815. The following is a
translation ; “‘ Wo to them that are self-
wise, and, in their own view, men of pru-
dence. Wo to them who say, We belong to
the light, but the light is not with them,
and whose heart he hath abandoned, cut
off, and taken away! Wo to them that
turn sweet to bitter, and bitter to sweet /
Wo to them that say of good, tt 15 evil,
and place evil on a par with good! Wo
to them who turn darkness into light, and
light into darkness! Wo to them who
early drink new wine, and in the evening
drink that which is old, and are capti-
vated with the song, the lyre, and the
pipe.” The agreement of the passage
with verses 20, 21, and 11, of this
chapter, is too glaring to admit of a
doubt that it was partly copied from
it, and partly an imitation.

22

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. V.

Wo to them that are valiant to drink wine,

And men of might to mix strong drink.

24

That justify the guilty for a reward,
And deprive the just of their
Therefore as the flame of fire consumeth the stubble,

right.

And as the burning hay falleth in ;
So shall their root be as rottenness,
And their blossom shat go up like dust:
Because they have despised the law of Jehovah of Hosts,
And contemned the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 Wherefore the anger of Jehovah burneth against his people,

commonly applied to military men,
and indicate extraordinary power and
heroism.—20 702?. When the He-
brews speak of mixing wine, the mean-
ing is not that it was diluted with
water, and thus made weaker, but
that it had spices and strong drugs
added to it, by which it was rendered
more potent and stupifying. Comp.
J22, spiced wine, Ps, xxv. 9; the synony-
mous 332, Song vil. 3; JO22, Prov.
xxiii. 30; κεκεράσμενον ἄκρατον, Rey.
xiv. 10; and Lowth’s note on chap. i.
22.

93. For oI, one of De Rossi’s
MSS., two printed editions, the LXX.,
Syr., Arab., and Vulg. read p32; and
an accurate Span. Cod. of De Rossi,
ΒΞ, but obviously emendations, in-
troduced for the purpose of making
the word agree with 3239, in the sin-
gular, at the end of the verse. It is
not unusual, however, for a sentence
first to have a plural, and then to
exhibit a singular, for the sake of
emphatically stating, that what is pre-
dicated affects each of the persons or
things included in the whole multitude.
The verse describes the corruption of
the judges by bribery, and the injustice
consequent upon it.

24. Now commences a specification
of the punishment to be inflicted on
the profligate and abandoned charac-
ters that had just been described.
Hitzig properly remarks, that this and
the following verse run parallel with
verses 13 and 14, as the use of }2¥,
and yy, sufficiently shows.—'Xsx jw),
“tongue of fire,” used metaphorically

for flame, on account of its lambent

and pointed appearance. Arab. οἷον

Je » Flamma, pec. fumi expers. Castel

and Gol. Comp. Acts ii. 3.—Contrary
to the usual construction, Ὁ is intro-
duced between the verb and its nomi-
native; which Kimchi accounts for
on the principle, that where the sub-
ject of discourse is so self-evident that
there can be no mistake, the object
may be placed before the agent.
Similar instances occur of a word
interposed between the Infin. Const.
and its genitive, as chap. xx. 1; lxiv.
1. ww occurs only here and chap.
Comp. the Arab. Un we
hay or dry grass. The radical idea
conveyed by ΠΕΡῚ seems to be that of
falling off, or down, failing, sinking
through imbecility. It is here used
to express the falling together, or
sinking down of bundles of dry hay
by the action of fire upon them.—?9,
rottenness, for ‘rotten wood,’ which,
when mouldered and dry, is blown
away like dust. All the images here
employed, forcibly represent the sud-
denness, ease, and completeness with
which God effects the destruction of
the wicked. How firmly soever they
may be established, and how great
soever their splendour, they at once
come to nothing when his judgments
are let loose upon them. Comp. Amos
ii. 9; Hosea ix. 16.

25. Some refer the agitation of the
mountains to the earthquake which
happened in the days of Uzziah, Amos

Xxxiii. 1].

CHAP V.|

ISATAH.

45

He hath stretched out his hand against them and smitten them:
So that the mountains tremble,

And their carcases are as filth in the midst of the streets.
Nevertheless his anger is not turned back,

But his hand is stretched out still.

26

For he raiseth a banner to the distant nations,

And whistleth for them from the end of the earth;
And, behold, speedily and fleetly they come.
27 None is faint, and none among them stumbleth ;

i. 1; Zech. xiv. 5; but it is nothing
more than a strong poetical image, of
frequent occurrence. Comp. Ps. xviii.
7; Joel ii. 10—2 in 03 is not radical,
as Kimchi and others have supposed,
but the Caph of comparison. The
root is πῦρ, the same as M0, fo sweep
away filth; hence HD, ND, sweepings,
filth; Chald. snd, ordure. 'The scene
here depicted is that which is wit-
nessed when the plague is raging in a
city, or immediately after a siege
which has made awful havoc of the
inhabitants.— The verse concludes
with a formula which is thrice re-
peated in the ninth, and once in the
tenth chapter, to intimate the continu-
ance of Divine judgments, and prepare
the reader for what follows.

26. Without naming the Assyrian
army, the prophet proceeds to de-
scribe its appearance, which he repre-
sents to be most formidable and terri-
fic—d) is properly ὦ signal flay or
banner, but is used also for the stand-
ard from which it was displayed.
Reference is made to the military
custom of planting a pole with a flag
on a high mountain; either to serve
as a signal of rendezvous, or to point
out the direction in which an army is
to proceed, The latter is here in-
tended. See Cesar de Bel. Gal. lib.
ii. cap. 10; Ammian. in Hist. Valentin.
lib. xxvii. cap. 10.—In the use of 7p
is a metaphor borrowed from the
practice of those who keep bees in
the East, and in some countries of
Europe ; calling them out, and again
gathering them and bringing them
back to the hive by the blast of a
whistle. Thus Cyril: Δέχεται δὲ καὶ
τούτο πάλιν, ὡς ἀπό γε THs συνεθείας τῆς
ἐπὶ τῶν μυιῶν. Ἔν ἔθει γάρ πώς ἐστι

τοῖς μελισσοκόμοις συρίζειν αὐταῖς"
οὕτω τε τῶν σίΐίμβλων ἀποφέρειν εἰς
ἄνθη, καὶ πόας, καὶ μὴν καὶ ἀνακομίζειν
ἐξ ἀγρὼν οἰκοί τε αὐτὰς ἐναυλίζεσθαι
ποιεῖν. The same metaphor is em-
ployed chap. vii. 18, and Zech. x. 8.
The word is onomatopoetic.—pinjn,
απ m7. Though the former of these
two descriptions of distance may,
without any violence, be viewed as
applicable to the Assyrians, it has
been thought that the latter is alto-
gether forced, if thus applied. But
the objection loses its validity when
it is recollected that the geographical
knowledge of the Hebrews was com-
paratively very limited, and that when
they spoke of “the ends of the earth,”
it was the earth as known to them.
Yet such a mode of describing distant
regions was not peculiar to the He-
brews. Thucydides, writing of the
Medes, the very people here referred
to, employs phraseology identical with
that used by Isaiah : τόν re yap Μῆδον
αὐτοὶ ἴσμεν ἐκ περάτων γῆς πρότερον
ἐπὶ τὴν Πελοπόννησον ἐλθόντα, κ. τ. λ.
i. 22, And Livy says of the Gauls:
“ab oceano fterrarum ultimis oris bel-
lum ciente,” v. 37. See Gesenius iz
loc—%. It is not unusual in Heb. to
introduce a person or thing in the way
of pronominal reference, without any
previous mention of the person or
thing specifically. The singular form
may be explained as referring to each
of the 03, taken singly; or it may
point them out as a congregated mass,
marching forward under the command
of their leader. The velocity with
which the enemy was to approach
exactly meets the challenge of the
scofters, ver. 19.

27, rs iw, By this is not meant

Ἐ

46

ISATAH.

[CHAP. Y.

They neither slumber nor sleep ;
The girdle of their loins is not loosed,
Nor is the latchet of their shoes untied.

28 Their arrows are sharpened,

And all their bows are bent;

The hoofs of their horses are counted as flint,
And their wheels as the whirlwind.

29

Their roar is like that of the lioness ;

They roar like the young lions ;

the girdle usually worn by the Orientals
round the waist for the purpose of
keeping their clothes close together
about the body, when they are at
work, or ona journey; but the ζωστὴρ,
or military belt with which soldiers
were accoutred. It was tightly girded
round the loins, for the sake of sup-
porting and strengthening the person,
and had attached to it the sheath
which contained the sword. Gesenius
would refer the loosing of the girdles,
and the untying of the latchet, to the
removal of obstacles which present
themselves in the way of an army ;
but it seems much more natural to
regard them as applying to the neces-
sary preparation for enjoying the
repose mentioned in the words imme-
diately preceding. The meaning is,
that the Assyrians would march for-
ward without any intermission. :

28. The bow and arrow were very
ancient weapons of offence. Gen. xxi.
20; xlix. 23. The bow was made of
wood, reeds, horn, and other materials ;
and was often so strong, that it re-
quired to be trodden upon in order to
make it bend. Hence the phrase 71
mop, to tread the bow; the Pah. Part. of
which verb is used, with such refer-
ence, in the present verse. The fol-
lowing quotation from Arrian will
furnish a sufficient description of this
custom. Speaking of the Indian in-
fantry, he says: ᾿Αλλ᾽ οἱ μὲν πεζοὶ
αὐτοῖσι τόξον τε ἔχουσιν ἰσόμηκες τῷ
φορέοντι τὸ τόξον" καὶ τοῦτο κάτω ἐπὶ
τὴν γῆν θέντες, καὶ τῷ ποδὶ τῷ ἀριστερῷ
ἀντιβάντες, οὕτως ἐκτοξευουσι τὴν νευρὴν
ἐπὶ μέγα ὀπίσω ἀπαγαγόντες. Hist,
Ind. xvi. Comp. also Diod. Sic. iii. 8;
Curt. viii. 14, 19; Ovid. Metam. v.
‘883; Xenoph, Anab. iv. 2, 28.— 2, the

same as WY, a stone—so called from its
compactness and solidity; but, as all
stones are not possessed of this qua-
lity, the spirit of the passage requires
that it should be rendered flint or
adamant; UXX. στερεὰ πέτρα.---- τι,
to reckon, count, estimate, is here used
idiomatically, and is equivalent to the
substantive verb. As the ancients did
not shoe their horses, as we do, hard-
ness of hoof was considered to be a
primary quality of a good horse.
Hence the Homeric χαλκόποδ᾽ ἵππω,
Tliad, 6. 41; and κρατερώνυχες ἵπποι; ᾿
and the following passage, quoted by
Gesenius from Montanabbi, shews
that, at a later period, the same
Tapes was attached to it in the
ast :

ep lal) esl, LS ah ths
Lh all oo be

“ They rise with the hoofs of their forefeet,

So that as often as they strike against the
rocks,

They impress upon them the breast of the
falcon ;

Though they go barefoot.”

mmo2, The rapidity with which the
Assyrians advanced is beautifully ex-
pressed, by comparing the revolution
of the wheels of their war-chariots to
that of the sudden whirlwind, which
seizes upon all within its reach, and,
rolling it up with indescribable velo-
city, bears it into the air.

29. Here the enemy is described
under the metaphor of a lioness,
accompanied by her young ones, first
roaring on reaching the prey, then
seizing it, and carrying it safely away

CHAP. VI.]

ISATAH.

41

They both growl and seize the prey ;
They bear it safely away, and there is none to rescue.
30 And they shall roar at them in that day, like the roaring of the

sea ;

So that if one look to the land, behold there is afflictive darkness,
And the light is darkened by its clouds.

to her den. 28% is properly used of
the full-grown, and ἘΠῚ of the young
lion—the one signifying ¢o roar, and
the other, ¢o growl; though they are
sometimes interchanged.

30. To enhance the terrors of the
description given of the attack of the
invader, a sea-storm on the west coast
of Palestine is introduced. The trans-
ition from the roaring or growling of
the lions, to that of the sea, was quite
natural. Comp. Jer. 1.42. Nor were
the phenomena on such occasions
confined to the Mediterranean: the
storm, sweeping over the land, the
entire horizon would be involved in
the densest gloom. A striking picture
of the political horizon of the Jews,
on the Assyrian invasion.—Consider-
able diversity has obtained in the
interpretation of the latter half of
this verse. There is no sufficient
reason to suppose, with Lowth, a

rendering in the LXX., and the Coptic
made from it, being in all probability
an emendation, which owed its origin
to an attempt to produce complete
‘uniformity between this, and the
parallel passage, chap. vill. 22. 817%,
Gesenius renders zow terror, now light,
but quite at variance with the spirit of
the text, which requires a state of
profound darkness, without any reliev-
ing glimpses of light. The preferable
construction is that, which, setting
aside the authority of the accents,
connects W with 7, immediately
preceding, and then makes ix the
nominative to the verb 7%, which
follows it. 1 TS, will thus be aflictive
darkness —By x, light, is meant the
sun, as the source of light. Comp.
Job xxxi. 26; Hab. ii. 4. The 7 in
mony, refers to YIs—the clouds here
mentioned being those by which the
land was covered during the storm,

corruption of the text: the different

CHAPTER VI.

Interpreters have been much divided respecting the occasion of this vision:
some referring it to what they consider to have been the solemn inaugura-
tion of Isaiah to his prophetical office ; while others are of opinion, that it
was vouchsafed to him when about to receive a new and special commission.
In support of the former hypothesis, which seems best sustained, it is alleged,
that the specification of the date, “in the year in which King Uzziah died,”
which must mean Jefore, and not after that event, exactly coincides with the
date, chap. i. 1; that all the circumstances of the vision were specially
adapted to impress the mind of the prophet with feelings suitable to be
cherished when entering on the functions of his office ; that if he had been
previously invested with it, there does not appear to have been anything so
peculiar in a new commission as to require such extraordinary interposition ;

- that commissions of a similarly express nature were given to the prophets

48

ISAIAH. [CHAP. VI.

Jeremiah and Ezekiel, at the commencement of their prophetical career ;
and, especially, that the latter of these two prophets was likewise favoured
with a sublime and august vision on the important occasion. The circum-
stance of the account of Isaiah’s vision not standing at the beginning of the
book, is of no consequence; it being admitted, that many portions of the
prophetical books are not placed in the exact order of time.

This chapter contains the description of a sublime vision, with which the
prophet was favoured, 1—4; the effect which it produced upon him, 5; the
supernatural relief afforded to his mind, 6, 7; his commissicn to announce
the obstinacy of the Jews, notwithstanding their continued enjoyment of
the means of instruction, 8—10; their dispersion in consequence of such
conduct, 11, 12; and the merciful reservation of a remnant to serve as the
stock of a new race, whose history would furnish fresh displays of the

Divine glory, 13.

1 In the year in which Uzziah the king died, I saw Jehovah, sitting
upon a high and elevated throne, and his train filled the temple.

1. way—ninnmwa. In the year of the
death, το. Comp. chap. xiv. 28, where
the same phraseology occurs. That in
both cases reference is made to what
transpired previous to the death of the
king, 15 obvious—since it would other-
wise have been said, that it happened
in the first year of his successor. We
are not informed during how many
months of the concluding year of
Uzziah’s reign Isaiah prophesied. It
is quite sufficient to justify the state-
ment, chap. i. 1, if he commenced the
functions of his office before the de-
cease of that monarch. In order,
indeed, to afford a wider scope for
his labours, several interpreters, both
Jewish and Christian, have supposed,
that the death here spoken of was not
the zxatural, but the civil death of
Uzziah, when he was smitten with the
leprosy, and laid aside from public
duty; but such an idea would pro-
bably never have been started, but for
a mistaken rendering of the verb
0272, in the fifth verse. Instead of
translating it, I am undone, or I perish,
they give it, I was reduced to silence,
and imagine the meaning to be, that
Isaiah had been compelled to suspend
his prophecy during the whole period
of the king’s seclusion. Some have
even maintained that his silence was
a punishment inflicted on him for not
reproving Uzziah: but who does not

perceive that all this is mere fancy,
and totally unworthy of scriptural
interpretation ἢ The } in 77x}, has
more of a temporal than a conjunctive
power. It is equivalent to 3s, then it
was that, το. ΤΣ is to be taken in
the prophetic acceptation, denoting a
supernatural perception of the objects
specified. The things constituting the
symbols of the vision, the prophet
did not behold with his bodily eyes.
He was in a state of ecstatic inspira-
tion, and had the things signified by
such symbols vividly impressed upon
his mind. See my Lectures on
“Divine Inspiration,’ pp. 157—165.
——rs. There can be little doubt
that this Divine name has been
substituted in the present verse, and
in verses 8th and 11th, for 77. The
latter name is found here in ninety-four
of Kennicott and De Rossi’s MSS.,
and has originally stood in zize more;
it is found in eighty, and has originally
stood in ¢ex more, ver. 8th; and it is
in nearly as many in the third in-
stance. It is besides found in some
of the early printed editions. The
rendering of the Targum is "187M,
the glory of the Lord; of which the
Evangelist John clearly avails himself,
when, speaking of the Lord Jesus
Christ, he says, “These things said
Esaias, when he saw τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ,
HIS GLORY, and spake of HIM,” chap.

CHAP. VI.]

ISAIAH.

49

2 Seraphs stood beside him: each had six wings; with two he
covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he

y_ > did fiz:

xii. 41. The person who appeared
to the prophet was the Divine Logos,
the Brightness of the Father’s glory,
and the Express Image of his Person,
Heb. i. 2.——-8w7) 0] may be referred
to ‘8 as their antecedent, and they
are thus used chap. lvii. 15; but the
more natural mode of construction in
this place requires us to connect them
with x2, the immediate antecedent.
Thus the Targ., LXX., Symm., Cover-
dale, and most moderns.—As 527 is
used poetically for heaven, Ps. xi. 4;
xviii. 7, Michaelis and others have
supposed, that the scene of the pro-
phet’s vision was the celestial world.
It seems more appropriate, however,
to take it in its ordinary acceptation,
as designating the temple of Jerusa-
lem, especially since express mention
is made of the altar, 72927, ver. 6, as
something familiarly known. The
term properly signifies ὦ capacious and
magnificent building, and is used_of the
royal palace at Babylon, chap. xxxix.

7; Dan. i. 4; Arab. Ji, from
Ji, to be great, immense in size;

Φ »
Ethiop. USA; Syr. flasn. It
commonly denotes the temple at Je-
rusalem in general; but sometimes it
is employed to designate the body or
large middle part of the building,
usually called the Holy place, in con-
tradistinction from V2], the oracle, or
Holy of Holies, and Dax, the vestibule
or porch erected at the entrance;
the space between which it occupied,
and contained the golden candlestick,
the altar of incense, and the table of
shew-bread. Between it and the
Holy of Holies was a double veil,
which was never drawn aside except
once a year, to admit the high priest,
who alone enjoyed the privilege of
appearing before the mercy-seat.—
Though we never find x03, throne,
employed to designate the mercy-
seat, yet it may be regarded as applied
to it in this place, inasmuch as the
phrase DIT IW, dwelling or sitting

enthroned between the cherubim, 1
Sam. iv. 4,15 descriptive of the visible
glory of Jehovah, as displayed from
it, above the ark of the covenant,
which the two cherubim overshadowed
with their wings, Exod. xxv. 20—22.
—While God vouchsafed to this spot
the peculiar symbol of his presence,
his glory filled the great body of the
temple, 1 Kings viii. 11. This glory
Isaiah calls Yaw, his train, or the long
flowing skirts of his royal robe, in
allusion to the ample robes of state
in which Oriental monarchs appeared
on great occasions.

2, DY. The scenery of the vision
being taken from the temple, it is
manifest, the Seraphs, or living beings
here described, can be no other than
the antitypes of the golden o’n3,
cherubs, which were stationed, one on
either end of the mercy-seat, covering
it with their wings. They correspond
to the four living creatures in the
vision of Ezekiel, between which and
that of Isaiah, are several striking
points of coincidence: only the former
is fuller, and contains many more par-
ticulars. A somewhat similar vision
was accorded to the apostle John,
Rey. iv.; but the four ζῶα, or living
creatures, there described, are an
appropriation of the symbols spoken
of by Ezekiel, to the Christian minis-
try, agreeably to the special scope of
the Apocalypse. There is, therefore,
no necessity, with Michaelis, Gesenius,
and others, to derive mv from the

Arab. pth, to be noble, whence

.

«-ο ὃ, a noble or prince; plur.
tne, those who have descended

from Mohammed ; and so to interpret
the term as designating the celestial
nobility, or the angels viewed as princes
of state, attendant upon Jehovah.
As the symbolical figures in the Holy
of Holies were called 0293, cherubin,
from their proximity to THE DIVINE
PRESENCE—1}), from which the name
is derived, being, as Hyde supposed,

50

ISATAH.

[CHAP. VI.

3 And the one called to the other, and said:
Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of hosts ;
The whole earth is full of his glory.

and as Gesenius now thinks not
improbable, equivalent to 27, Ζο
approach, draw near—so Isaiah appro-
priates to the beings whom they re-
presented, the name of D5qv, Seraphin,
to denote their burning, or dazzling
appearance. This idea was naturally
suggested by the splendid effulgence
of the golden cherubs, when they
reflected the glory of the Lord. We
are told, indeed, by Gesenius, that
AW signifies fo burn, burn up, and not
to shine, which holds true of the
English verb ¢o burn, as well as of the
Hebrew, if respect be simply had to
the primary signification ; but it was
just as natural for the Hebrews to
apply the word in a secondary or
translated sense, as it is for us to
express by our word the excessive
brightness proceeding from any lumi-
nous object. Thus, also, in Scripture
gems are called tx 22x, stones of fire,
from their glittering appearance.
What confirms this derivation of the
term, is the description of the living
creatures in the vision of Ezekiel:
“their appearance was like durning
coals of fire, and like the appearance
of damps—and the fire was bright, and
out of the fire went forth lightning,”
chap. i. 13. The interpretation, there-
fore, of Kimchi: Ὃν 28%, and Abul-

walid: & yb Ko, angels of fire, or

fiery angels, is not so far from the
mark. To maintain, as Gesenius
attempts to do, that the cherubim
presented any thing of the appearance
of serpents, and that an analogy is to
be traced between them and the
sacred serpents in the temple of
Jupiter, at Thebes, is perfectly to
degrade the subject.

If the above interpretation be
correct, it will be seen, that there is
no foundation in Scripture for the
opinion that Cherubim and Seraphim
are distinct orders of angels. The
two names are merely distinctive of
two attributes attaching to the same
order of beings—their zcarness to
Jehovah, and the glorious effulgence of

their celestial nature. Comp. Dan.
vii. 10; Matt. xviii. 10; Luke x. 20.

The Seraphim are represented as
standing, to intimate their readiness
to execute the Divine behests. That
Syn is to be rendered Jeside, and not
above, or before, comp. 1 Kings xxii.
19, where Y22 is explained by its being
added, at his right hand and at his left.
The two passages are parallel, both in
scene and phraseology—Though 0°33
is pointed as a dual, it is not meant
that each seraph had six pair of wings.
In Hebrew things that naturally exist
in pairs are expressed in the dual even
when more than two are intended,
See Zech. iii. 9. The repetition of the
number of wings indicates distribution.
To express the deep sense which the
Seraphim cherished of their unworthi-
ness to behold the Divine Majesty,
they covered their faces, comp. Exod.
lili. 6; and to mark their reverential
respect, they also covered their feet,
or the whole of the lower part of the
body—a practice which obtains in the
East, when persons approach the
presence of a monarch: the attribu-
tion to them of wings, and flying,
teaches the velocity with which they
execute their commissions; and to
intimate that what is here ascribed to
them is habitual and constant, the
verbs are put in the future tense.
See Gesen. Lehrgeb. p. 774.

3. DIT wi wi. That these words
were sung responsively by the Sera-
phim is undeniable: whether one
choir took up the first, another the
second, and both joined in the third
wiz, as Rosenmiiller supposes, cannot
be determined. The triple use of the
term has been considered as intended
to intimate a Trinity in the Godhead.
Thus Rabbi Joseph, in 7x “yx, fol.
94. ἃ. 1. 24. Primam sanctitatem
respiscere e decem sephiris Coroxam
Supremum; alteram Sapientiam; et
tertiam Intelligentiam. It was also
appealed to by the Fathers in proof
of the Scripture doctrine of the
Trinity ; and there are many who still
view it in this light: but the trinary

CHAP. VI.|

ISAIAH.

51

4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook by reason of the
voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 Then I said: Alas for me! surely I am undone; for [am aman

repetition of words in other passages,
simply to express intensity, or superla-
tiveness of degree, satisfactorily shews,
that, according to the wsus loquendi,
this is the meaning in the present in-
stance. See Jer. vil. 4; xxil. 29; Ezek.
xxi. 27 (Hebr.) 82. Musculus observes
here: “Hee est doxologia angelica
paucissimis verbis absoluta. Ardens
est animus Deum veré laudantium,
non multiloquus, multo minus batto-
logus. Nec Deus ipse multiloquio,
sed ardore fidei ac spiritus delectatur.”
This angelic hymn is repeated, with
certain variations, by the four living
creatures, Rev. iv. 8. See Suicer,
Thes. in voc. Tpicay. The primary
idea conveyed by the term np, is
that of separation, especially from
what is common or profane to a special
and sacred purpose. Hence the no-
tions of sanctity, moral purity, infinite
excellence and perfection. Τῦ 1s in this
last and most exalted acceptation
that it is used by the Seraphim.
Ὑ123-- ἰδ, lit. the fulness of the whole
earth is his glory; but the meaning is,
that the earth is entirely filled with
it; there being no object within its
compass which does not proclaim the
perfections of God. Ps. xix. 2, 3.
The words appear to bear upon the
scene described ver. 1, in which the
train of Jehovah is said to have filled
the temple. Comp. Hab. iii. 3; and
for the phrase YIN? 87, Hamas., as
quoted by Schultens, ad Conses.
Harir. vi. p. 181.

le οὐδ! sho kel elf
sae

“Fuit Chezaa plenitudo terre, qua late
patet.”

4. niax, bases, foundations. The
most probable etymology of this word
is that which refers it to the Arab,

eet], Principia, radices, the plur. of

ε mater, radix, principium, Gol.; in

architecture, the solid stones, stretch-
ing across the foot of a doorway, and
supporting the 0D, sz//s or thresholds,
which were based upon them. The
LXX. take both terms together, and
render, τὸ ὑπέρθυρον; the Vulg. super-
liminaria cardinum; Vitringa, superli-
minaria postium. The agreement in
gender of the verb ὋΣ with D807, and
not with nipx, the nearer noun, to
which it otherwise properly belongs,
is owing to the prominence which is
given to the former, by its having
the article prefixed, and its denoting
the specia] objects in which the effects
of the earthquake were visible.—m39,
the same as 9277, ver. 1. Both were
used of the tabernacle before the
temple was built. See Joshua vi. 24;
1 Sam. i. 7, 9; iii. 3. On the filling of
the temple with smoke, comp. 1 Kings
vili. 10,11; Ezek. x. 4, with Rev. xv. 8.
5. 1273, the reading of the Textus
Receptus, can only be derived from
793, which, though in Kal it primarily
signifies fo be still, silent, reduce to
silence, is only used in Niphal in the
sense of being destroyed, or perishing.
From the circumstance, however, that
sizty-two MSS. and originally siz more,
the Brixian Bible, the Proph. of Son-
cin. 1486, and seven other editions,
omit the former of the two Yods, some
refer it to D4 or 003, and render:
1 am struck dumb, or, [ am silent. In
support of this interpretation, they
allege the rendering of the LXX. (in
some copies,) Aquila, Theodotion,
Symm., the Syr. and Vulg., and the
authority of some of the rabbins.
But it so happens that 077 is not at all
in use ; and that, in Niphal, 023 never
signifies to be silent, but always, to be
destroyed, cut off, perish. Add to which,
that °n273, pointed ‘7273, is pronounced
precisely as ‘N’272, and is only one
of the numerous instances of the
scriptio defectiva. 'The prophet, ap-
palled by the display which he saw
of the Divine glory, the theme and
loud peals of the seraphim, the con-
cussions of the earthquake, and a sense
of his own sinfulness, and that of his

δ2

ISATAH.

[CHAP. VI.

of unclean lips, and I dwell among a people of unclean lips ;

6 for mine eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of Hosts.

And one

of the seraphs flew to me, with a burning coal in his hand,
7 which he had taken with tongs from off the altar; and he
touched my mouth, and said: Behold, this hath touched thy
lips: therefore thine iniquity is removed, and thy sin is forgiven.
8 And I heard the voice of Jehovah, saying: Whom shall I
send, and who will go for us? And I said: Here am I;

nation, apprehended instant destruc-
tion. This was quite inaccordance with
the feelings of the ancient Hebrews,
who were taught to expect immediate
death, as the result of a vision of
Jehovah. See Gen. xxxii. 30; Judges
vi, 22, 23, 24; xiii. 22; and comp.
Exod. xxxili. 20, the difference be-
tween which and chap. xxiv. 10, 11, is
not such as to warrant the conclusion
of Gesenius, that the two chapters
were written by different authors. In
the one case, a perception of the Di-
vine Hssence is meant, which is ex-
pressly declared to be incompatible
with the laws of mortal existence ; in
the other, such a view of the external
effulgence which accompanied the
Divine manifestations, as was enjoyed
by Moses, the patriarchs, and pro-
phets of old, and by John under the
new dispensation. The specification
of the dips as the seat of impurity,
appears to have arisen from the im-
pression produced upon the mind of
Isaiah by the celestial anthem, which
he had just heard, and in which he felt
he was totally unworthy to join;
though the seraph who addresses him,
ver. 7, would rather seem to adapt
the phrase to the unfitness of the
prophet to be engaged as a Divine
messenger, till he had experienced the
purifying influence there described.

6. ΠΕΞῚ is properly a coal, or burning
stone, ἃ χὰ δ, ‘ such as the Arabs use

at this day for the purpose of baking
their bread, or roasting, to which use
reference is made in the phrase, Τὴν
mes, a cake baked on glowing stones.
1 Kings xix.6. Vulg. calculus ; but
the LXX., Aquila., Symm., and Theod.,
ἄνθραξ, coal. From what follows, we
learn that such stones were laid upon

the altar in order to burn the sacri-
fices. Before 722 supply Wx.

7. The use of fire as the most
powerful of all purifying agents, is
adopted in Scripture as a symbol of
the more important process of moral
purification. Mal. iii. 2,3; Matt.iii. 11.
The } in 1%) at once connects the
words, and marks the izstantaneousness
of the effect produced by the applica-
tion of the symbol to the mouth

of the prophet. 153, Arab. ,9$, eapi-
avit crimen, signifies not only to expiate
or atone for sin, by covering it with the
matter of the atonement from the
view of Him whose prerogative it is to
punish it, but also, ¢o grant pardon for
the sake of, and as the result of such
atonement,

8. Ὁ, The ancient versions of this
word, with the exception of the Vulg.,
evince that their translators were per-
plexed by it. The Syriac omits it alto-
gether ; the LXX. has πρὸς τὸν λαὸν
τοῦτον; and the Targ. TEN», fo teach ;
though no Heb. MS. exhibits any
various reading. The remark of Gese-
nius, that Jerome is quite consistent
in interpreting this plural form, as he
does Gen. i. 26, xi. 7, of the Trinity,
rather redounds to the honour, than
reflects discredit on that father. In
no other way has it ever been consist-
ently interpreted. The hypothesis of
a plural of majesty or excellence has
never been satisfactorily established.
It is neither in accordance with Scrip-
ture, nor with general Oriental usage.
No passage can be adduced from the
Hebrew Scriptures, from which it can
be proved that it was the practice of
kings to speak of themselves indi-
vidually in the plural number. See
Ewald’s Heb, Gram, English Transl,

GHAP. VI. |

ISATAH.

53

9 send me. And he said: Go, and say to this people :
Go on hearing, but understand not ;
And go on seeing, but perceive not.
10 Make the heart of this people fat ;
And make heavy their ears, and close up their eyes ;
Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears,

And perceive with their heart,

p. 231, where that profound scholar
gives it as his deliberate opinion, that
rt is a great error to suppose that the
Heb. language, as we find it, has any
feeling for a so-called plur. majestaticus.
The idea of a consultation with other
beings, Gen. i. 26, iii. 22, xi. 7, and
in this verse, which Kimchi, Le Clerc,
and others, advance in explanation, is
rejected by Gesenius, Lehrgeb. p. 800;
and both theories are decidedly repu-
diated by Hitzig, who, unwilling, how-
ever, to admit the doctrine of the
Trinity, asserts, without any attempt
at proof, that it is a mode of speech
borrowed from common life. For an
able discussion of the whole subject of
plural attributions to the Deity, 1 refer
the reader to the Rev. Dr. J. Pye
Smith’s Script. Testimony to the Mes-
siah, vol. i. pp. 464—495. Third Edit.
9. viow wow, ὅσο. The construction
of a finite verb with its infinitive fol-
lowing, denotes continuity of action,
The LXX. resolve the imperatives into
futures, and their version is adopted
Matt. xiii. 14, 15; Acts xxviii. 27.
The use of 58, however, and not δ,
shows that the following verbs, ὍΣ}
and win, are not simply future, but
are subject to the influence of the im-
perative mood of those which precede ;
yet so that the commands involve no
external objective necessity. The lan-
guage is not strictly and properly jus-
sive, but proverbial in its character,
and savours strongly of sacred irony,
of which we have a decided instance,
Matt. xxiil. 32. See also chap. xxix. 9.
Similar proverbial forms, and some of
them almost identical, are adduced in
abundance by Wetstein ad Matt. xiii.
13. 181, here, and Gen. xxvi. 28, for
mx}, which is found in thirteen MSS.
10. The imperatives, jot, 7207,
yun, are declaratory in their import,
agreeably to the language of the

and turn, and be healed.

Hebrew prophets, in which a person
is often said to do or effect what he
merely announces would take place.
Comp. Gen. xxvii. 37 (comp 28) ; Jer. i.
10; Ezek. xliii. 3; Hos. vi 5. The pas-
sage, in effect, contains nothing more
than a prediction of the obduracy of
the Jews, and the consequences by
which it would be followed: only it is
expressed in a form which indicates
strong feeling on the part of the
speaker, and a persuasion that such
would infallibly be their condition.
This mode of speech is not uncommon
even in modern languages, when a per-
son in a state of excitement, wishing
to intimate his conviction of the cer-
tainty of any action of which he dis-
approves, gives a peremptory order
that it should be performed. There
can be no doubt that the words were
designed to apply to the Jews in the
days of the prophet ; yet the descrip-
tion being equally appropriate in its
application to their character as a
people, from that time forward, we
find the prophecy quoted or referred
to both by our Lord, and by Paul, as
receiving its accomplishment in their
days. Comp. Matt. xiii. 14, 15; Mark
iv. 12; Luke viii.10; John xi. 40;
Acts xxvill. 25—27.—207, to make fat ;
so to surround with fat, as to render
insensible to external influence: meta-
phor. ¢o make stupid, unfeeling, and stub-
born. See for the use of the verb in
Kal. Deut. xxxii. 15 ; Jer. v. 28.—1334,
likewise metaphor. applied, denotes
heaviness or dulness of perception, a want
of susceptibility and attention to
instruction —vw7, fo smear over with
viscous matter, close up; Root, rv,
Aram. vy, «70 smear, blind; LUXX.
ἐκάμμυσαν; Vulg. claude— indicates
the most obstinate determination to
shut out the light of truth from the
mind, Comp. Lucian, Nig. 19: μηδὲ

G

δ4

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. VI.

11 Then I said, How long, O Jehovah? And he said,
Till the cities be made desolate, without an inhabitant,
And the houses without a man,

And the land become utterly desolate,

12 And Jehovah have removed men afar off,

And the forsaking be great in the midst of the land.

13 And though there should still be in it a tenth part,
Even it shall again be burnt up;

τὰ ὦτα κηρῷ φραξάμενον, add ἀκούοντα,
καὶ AeAvpevov.—Before 122 subaud. 3,
which is supplied in upwards of
twenty MSS. and two of the earliest
printed editions. Its being expressed,
however, inthe LXX., Syr., Chald. and
Vulg., is no proof of its having been
in the text from which they were
made, as the translators might, in
common with others, have found it
necessary to supply it in their ver-
sions. In like manner, δ is under-
stood after 30.—‘) ΝΘ is to be taken
impersonally : ad there should be heal-
ing to them. he healing referred to is
the entire moral recovery which sin-
ners experience on their conversion to
God; and, as pardon is essential to
such recovery, healing and forgiveness
of sins came to be regarded by the
Hebrews as synonymous. Hence, after
the Targum, 727%, the words are thus
paraphrased, Mark iv. 12, καὶ ἀφεθῇ
αὐτοὶς τὰ ἁμαρτήματα, though in the
parallel passages, ἐάσομαι of the LXX.
is retained.

11. Os WrRow, This accumulation
is designed to give intensity to the
statement, and thereby to intimate, in
such connexion, the great length of
time during which the obstinacy of
the Jews should be evinced. Comp.
Gen. xxviii. 15; Numb. xxxii. 17.—
προ ANN, lit. be laid waste, a desola-
tion, for “be utterly wasted.”

12. The Babylonish captivity is
evidently predicted in this verse.—
mad, that which is forsaken ; 1. 6. the
portion of the land, with whatever
pertained to it, which the inhabitants
were compelled to leave on their trans-
portation. That the LXX. and Vulg.
which have been followed by Lowth,
have quite mistaken the meaning of
the term, will be seen on comparing

chap. xvii. 2; Jer. iv. 29; Zeph. ii. 43
where it is employed precisely as it is
in this place.

13. HM) 7IW— 39, in such connexion,
is used adverbially, to indicate a repe-
tition of the action expressed by the
following verb. Thus the LXX. καὶ
πάλιν ἔσται εἰς προνομὴν : and Symm.
καὶ πάλιν ἔσται εἰς καταβοσκήσιν.--- ΠῚ
wid, lit. fo be for burning, shall be
burnt, or laid waste by burning. See,
for the phrase, Numb, xxiv. 22; Is.
xliv. 15.—n2>0, a felling or throwing
down, from 28, to cast, cast down, over-
throw. 232 and ΠΣ, from 323, Zo set,
place, plant, remain stationary in a place :
hence the signification of stock or
trunk attaching to the noun, from its
continuing in the ground. The fem.
pron. affix in ΠΩΣ, refers to ™Yty,
the tenth part; and 03 (for which
upwards of a hundred MSS. read, or
have read, 72,) belongs to iis) 7x.
The meaning of the whole verse seems
to be this: So severe shall be the
punishment inflicted upon the nation,
that should only a small part recover
itself, that part shall likewise in its
turn be punished. Nevertheless, it
shall not be entirely annihilated ; but
like the trunk of the most durable of
trees, which sends forth a fresh shoot,
it shall produce a holy race to adorn
the church of God. For the terebinth
and the oak, see on chap. i. 29. On
account of their obstinacy, the Jews
were first carried away to Babylon ;
after the short respite which followed
the restoration, during which they
might be said never to have regained
more than a tenth part of their former
strength and influence, they were
finally and completely overthrown by
the Romans; but, though nearly eight-
een centuries have elapsed since that

CHAP. VII.]

ISATAH.

δῦ

Yet, like the terebinth and the oak,
Of which, when felled, there is a stock,
The stock thereof shall be a holy seed.

event, they still radically exist, and we
anticipate the period, when, as a peo-
ple, their motto shall be, “ Holiness
unto the Lord.” The best commen-
tary upon the latter half of this
verse is furnished by Paul, Rom. xi., in
which he treats of the fall and present
rejection of the Jews, and their future

restoration. The metaphor of the
root and its branches somewhat differs
from that here employed; but the
subject is the same, and is introduced
in a similar way, by a recognition of
the blindness and obstinacy of the
Jewish people, verses 7—10.

oe

CHAPTER VII.

The grand section of the Prophet’s writings which commences with this
chapter, extends to the fourth verse of Chapter X. The leading subjects are
the invasion of Judah by the Syro-Israelitish army, and by that of Senna-
cherib ; but repeated occasion is taken, from the disastrous aspect of the
times, to announce the certainty of the Messiah’s advent, and the happiness
to be enjoyed under his reign. Several difficulties occur in this portion of
the book: but some of them have been unnecessarily magnified, in con-
sequence of the prejudices under the influence of which many have laboured
who have attempted its interpretation. The historical circumstances are
specially narrated, 2 Kings xvi. 5—18, and 2 Chron. xxviii.

The seventh chapter begins with a brief statement of the circumstances which
led to the delivery of the prophecies which it contains, 1, 2; it then gives
an account of the message with which Isaiah was sent to Ahaz, whose mind
and that of his courtiers had been struck with a panic by the threatened
invasion, 3—9; we have next, his second message to the unbelieving
monarch, requiring him to ask for a miracle from Jehovah, in attestation of
his prophetic commission, 10—12; the celebrated announcement of the
miraculous conception of the Messiah, with a view to support the faith of
the pious, whose fears respecting the total extinction of the house of David
had been excited, 13—16 ; and a prediction of the calamities to which the
Jewish people should be subjected by the very power to which Ahaz looked
for succour, 17—25.

1 AND it came to pass in the days of Ahaz, the son of Jotham,

1. An attempt was made on the part of that of Ahaz, B. c. 743.—"y. This

of the kings of Syria and Samaria to
invade Judah towards the close of the
reign of Jotham, 2 Kings xv. 37, but
it was only a prelude to the actual in-
vasion of the land by the joint forces
of these kings at the commencement

verb, like the corresponding verbs in
most languages, is used of an approach
towards a metropolis or chief city,
altogether irrespective of the elevation
of its position, or of its direction, in a
geographical point of view. None of

ISATAH. -

[CHAP. VII.

the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of
Syria, with Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came
up to Jerusalem to fight against it, but he was not able to take

ΠΡ

And it was told to the house of David, saying, Syria

leadeth forward with Ephraim ; and his heart and the heart of
his people shook, as the trees of the forest shake before the
3 wind. And Jehovah said to Isaiah: Go out now to meet

the instances adduced by Rosenmiiller,
Bib, Geog. vol. i. p. 8, in support of the
all refer to local elevation, or the
latter idea, can be sustained, since they
contrary. The military acceptation,
which, after Vitringa, the same author
assigns to the term in his Scholia on
this verse, is equally untenable. In
application to Jerusalem,as the central
point of the Theocracy, it is peculiarly
appropriate—Ow. Aramea—not Syria
in the largest extent of its signifi-
cation, comprehending the vast tract
of country between Phenicia, Pales-
tine, Arabia, the Tigris, and Mount
Taurus ; but one of the minor
divisions, called pret ON, Syria of
Damascus, 2 Sam. viii. 6, comp. Amos
i. 5, from Damascus being the capital.
Its limits varied according to the
power of the princes who reigned over
it. It was subdued by David, 1 Chron.
xviii. 6, but afterwards regained its
freedom, and proved a source of re-
peated annoyance to the neighbouring
kingdom of Israel. Though Rezin, its
king, failed in his attempt upon Jeru-
‘salem, he succeeded in taking Elath,
the important sea-port on the eastern
arm of the Arabian gulf, which it does
not appear the Jews ever recovered.
mama), lit. to the war, the substantive
instead of the Infinitive 0797, as in
Deut. x. 12; Jud. xvi. 23. In refer-
ence to a city, 00% followed by °Y or 3
signifies to besiege; but here it ex-
presses the superadded,idea of, Jde-
sieging so as to take-—°%X, for which we
have 555 in the plural, 2 Kings xvi. 5,
may either be taken distributively, or
which is preferable, it may refer to
Rezin, the head of the hostile expe-
dition, and so agree with 72 in the
singular. In the last clause of the
verse, the event is inserted by pro-
lepsis,

2. ima, “the house of David,” sig-

nifies the royal family of which Ahaz
was the representative, which suf-
ficiently accounts for the ‘in 4329 and
sor.—oIw mm). Here Aramea is used for
the Arameans, or the Syrian army
which was advancing towards Jerusa-
lem. 72 is not the third person
feminine of ™, ¢o vest, but a different
verb, signifying, fo lead forth, or forward,

conduct troops, &c.; Arab. lL, tetendit,

contendit aliquem versus; Eth. 42% =
in longum se produxit ; in the fourth

Conjug. AVE: produzit, prolongavit,

extendit. The word is also used in a
military sense, Ps. lx. 11, D118 272 Ὁ,
“Who will /ead me to Edom?” It
thus agrees in gender with 03x, the
masculine antecedent; and the ne-
cessity of forcing upon ™) the idea of
encamping is superseded—an accep-
tation in which it never occurs. The
accentuation of the Masorites is of no
weight in such a case.—¥ has fre-
quently the signification of with, in
reference to what follows another ; as
Exod. xxxv. 22, Drd3xroy OWT WIN ;
Amos iii. 15, PRIS ὃν FAT m3; and
with this very verb, Job xxxviii. 32,
DMN ΠΝ y wv, or canst thou lead out
Aish with her sons ? lit. or Aish with her
sons, canst thou lead them out ? but the
Ὁ is pleonastic. Agreeably also to
this interpretation, D8 corresponds
to Ds ; both being used ina personal,
not in ἃ territorial sense. . See
Michaelis’s Supp. ad Lexx. Heb. p.
1625. The news of the combined
armies approaching might well alarm
the Jewish monarch.

3. As no reason is assigned why
Isaiah was to take his son with
him, some interpreters have sup-
posed, that it was in order that
he might point to him when giving

CHAP. VII.|

ISATAH.

57

Ahaz, thou, and Shear-jashub thy son, at the end of the aque-
duct of the upper pool, at the highway of the fuller’s field ;
4 and say to him: Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither let

the assurance, verses 15 and 16;
but that this position cannot be
philologically sustained, will be shewn
in the proper place—The name 180
awe, SHEAR-JASHUB, a Remnant shall
return, is symbolical. It occurs again
chap x. 21, 1132 OY ἌΡ) INW Iw We,
A remnant shall return, a remnant γ'
Jacob to the Mighty God; not, indeed,
as a proper name, but as giving the
import of the name, and shewing
that the return spoken of was not a
mere return from external captivity,
but true conversion to God. Such
was the significancy of the name
which Isaiah had prophetically given
to his son; and as this could not but
be known to Ahaz and the court, his
accompanying his parent on this
special occasion was highly calculated
to excite attention, and inspire the
confidence, that how much soever the
Jews might be chastised by foreign
enemies, in punishment of their sins,
a portion of them should still turn to
God and enjoy his favour.—The exact
spot where the prophet was to meet
Ahaz has been and still is much dis-
puted, owing to the difficulty which
is found in determining to which of
the collections of water about Jeru-

salem the 7373, Arab. as > 15 piscina, here

specified, is to be referred. Rosen-
miller and Olshausen concur in the
opinion that Gihon and Si/oah, in con-
nexion with which almost all the
commentators place the locality, were
on the South-East side of the city ;
but they are placed on the South-West,
close to Mount Gihon, and at no great
distance from the gate at which
the road from Joppa terminates, by
Jerome, Reland, Wells, Vitringa, Bas-
chienne, Ritter, Hamelsfeld, Schroeder
(MS.), Hendewerk, Tholuck, Gesenius,
Hengstenberg, and Weiland in his
Bibel-Atlas. Lightfoot and Hitzig
stand almost alone in supposing that
the place spoken of lay on the North-
East of Jerusalem. A careful col-
lation of 2 Kings xviii. 17; 2 Chron.
Xxxii. 4, 30 ; Neh. ii. 13—15; iii. 13—

16 ; decidedly favours the second
opinion, and especially 2 Chron. xxxii.
30, where the meaning is not that
Hezekiah brought the waters of Gihon
westward, but that he prevented their
flowing directly south from the foun-
tain, by conducting them eastward,
across the narrow intervening valley,
to the west side of the city of David.
The whole locality seems accurately
laid down by Wells in his plan fronting
p. 238, vol. ii, Edit. Oxford, 1809.
Stloah, or Siloam, was the upper of two
pools or reservoirs, MP7 72327; it
received its water from the adjacent
fountain ἡ, Gihon, (so called from
the sudden or violent bursting forth
of the water,) and again sent it
forth by the vn, aqueduct, which
stretched across to Mount Zion.
Between this and the field used for
fulling or bleaching clothes, was the
mon, a raised road, running ina south-
erly direction, towards the /ower pool.
It appears to have been at the point
of convergence between these two
raised works, close to the gate below
the royal palace, that the meeting
took place. The monarch had in all
probability repaired thither for the
purpose of taking measures to prevent
the water falling into the power of the
invaders, whose first attack on the
city would likely be made in that
quarter. Such a step was actually
taken by Hezekiah on the invasion of
Sennacherib, 2 Chron. xxxii. 4, 30.
The present well of Siloam, on the
S. E. of Mount Moriah, may have
received its name from its water
having been conveyed thither by a
subterranean aqueduct from the pool
of the same name above described.

4, opwm yr, properly, take heed to
thyself so as to be quiet, or remain tran-
quil ; suffer not thyself to be hurried
away by unbelieving fear, to adopt any
measures of safety that would imply
want of confidence in God. ‘The
former of these verbs is often used in
the Imper. of Niphal for the purpose
of strengthening the idea conveyed by
that which follows it.—m32, ¢ai/s, pur-

58

ISAIAH.

[CHAP, VII.

thy heart be faint, on account of these two tails of smoking
fire-brands, the burning anger of Rezin, and Syria, and the son
5 of Remaliah. Because Syria hath purposed evil against thee,
Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, saying:
6 Let us go up against Judah, and entirely subvert it;
And let us break it completely up for ourselves,
And establish a king in it—the son of Tabeal:

7 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah:

It shall not stand; neither shall it be.
8 For the head of Syria shall be Damascus ;

posely chosen, instead of nizp, ends, to
express centempt ; Rezin and Pekah
resembled two pieces of wood, which
the fire had consumed all but the
extreme points, #nd even these had
been so reduced by the burning
element, that they could no longer
feed it, but only feebly emitted smoke.
What then had Ahaz to fear? They
had kindled the war, (comp. the Arab.

Lo] "ἢ but the eye οἵ Omni-

science beheld them reduced to the
very last extremity by the Assyrian
power.—Ow), dud Syria, at which
some translators and critics have
stumbled, is very appropriately added
to the name of the king, for the sake
of emphasis ; just as both m2, Pekah,
and Dmx, Ephraim, are omitted in
what follows, to express the idea of
the weakness of the Israelites apart
from their foreign ally, and the con-
tempt in which their regicide king
deserved to be held. In like manner,
and for the same reason, the name of
the projected king of Jerusalem is
suppressed, ver. 6, and he is merely
called the son of Tabeal :—a mode of
speech not without example among
the Arabs. Comp. also 1 Sam. xx.
27, 30, 31; xxii. 9, 12; for other
examples of a similar Hebrew usage.

5. 3 155 connect with Vox 7) at the
beginning of ver. 7,and not with the
preceding verse. Here the name of
the Syrian king is omitted, and that
of Ephraim is inserted ; probably with
a view to give prominence to the con-
federate armies. The son of Rema-
liah is again mentioned, to expose
him to further contempt.

6. The Suff. in ΤΡῚΣ refers to TH,

the Subst. immediately preceding, and
not, as Gesenius and Rosenmiiller
would have it, to O23 understood.
The Nun epenthetic is inserted in this
and the following verb, to express the
completeness ofthe anticipated actions,

yr, Root pp, Arab. sk, diruit, dis-

solvit tentorium. This derivation, pro-
posed by Michaelis, and approved by
Schroeder, (j7?, pp. rwmpere, rumpendo
dissolvere—translata est ad notanda
regni et Reipub. destructionem, MS.
in loc.) is preferable to that adopted
by Gesenius: viz. fo put in fear,
which he violently explains of esieg-
ing! It has the support of the

Syriac masa, let us root it up, sub-

vert it; and agrees better with the
parallel 7:y723, which expresses the
idea of cleaving, breaking through, up,
&c. The objects at which the con-
federates aimed, were the entire de-
struction of the house of David, and
the placing of a foreigner upon the
throne.—82%, ‘apart from the pause,
2x20, Tabeal, is a Syriac name, and cor-
responds to the Heb. ™21%, Tobiah.
In all probability, the person whom it
designates belonged to Syria. The
contemptuous suppression of the son’s
name is, of course, to be ascribed to
the prophet, and not to the hostile
kings.

7. The declaration of Jehovah in
this verse is sublimely peremptory—
quite in the style of HR MM,
Gen. i. 3. Comp. Ps. xxxiii, 9—11 ;
Is. vii. 10; xiv. 24.

8, 9, contain an assurance, that the
two threatening powers should be con-
fined within their own limits. Their

CHAP. Υ11.}

. ISATAH.

59

And the head of Damascus, Rezin ;

And within sixty-five years,

Ephraim shall be broken, so as to be no more a people.
9 'The head also of Ephraim shall be Samaria;

residences should be, before subdued
by Assyria, what they had been, the re-
spective capitals of Syria and Ephraim
only ; they should exert no influence
over Judah. In addition to which, the
prophet delivers a specific prediction
respecting the destruction of Ephraim,
and a warning against disbelief of the
Divine declaration. 33 at the begin-
ning of ver. 8, is equivalent to ON7?,
but, but on the contrary. Comp. Ps. i.
2, and freq.—nm Am won) ow Tiyn
Dyp oOneN, And within sixty-five years
Ephraim shall be broken, so as not to be
a people. This has generally been con-
sidered a locus veratissimus, both on
account of the position of the words,
and the chronological difficulty con-
nected with the specified number of
years. As the two verses consist of
three distichs, the first and last of
which form a perfect parallel, the two
middle lines have been regarded as
disturbing the order, and are by some
restored to what is thought to have
been their original position at the
conclusion ; while by others they are
entirely rejected as a gloss. Those
who consider their occupying the
place they now fill, to be the effect
of inadvertent transposition on the
part of some copyist, base their
judgment on a principle of taste ;
those who consider them to be spu-
rious, are influenced partly by this
principle, and partly by the pressure
of a supposed difficulty in their inter-
pretation. Others, who are disposed
to receive the distich either as it
now stands, or as it may be trans-
posed, are still dissatisfied with the
number of the years, and propose,
some one alteration, and some another.
To these various theories, however,
stands opposed the unanimous testi-
mony of all the MSS. versions, and
other sources of evidence which prove
the integrity of the text. As to the
alleged perfection of parallelism, nu-
merous instances occur, in which it is
broken in upon by the insertion of

some sentence or sentences, which
had so taken possession of the writer,
that he would sacrifice taste rather
than suppress them, or postpone their
introduction. The present case is
precisely one of these. Isaiah had
the utter extinction of the ten tribes,
as a people inhabiting the Holy Land,
so powerfully impressed upon his
mind, that before proceeding to an-
nounce, that, in the mean time, they
too should not make further encroach-
ments upon the Jewish territory, he
predicts their ultimate doom. The
words are, therefore, quite in their
place.

With respect to the computation of
the prophetic period here specified,
the only one which is at all satis-
factory is that of the more recent
Jewish chronologers, approved in the
main by Archbishop Usher, Sir Isaac
Newton, Vignolles, Jubb, Lowth,
Doderlein, Hengstenberg, Hoffman,
Drechsler, and others, according to
which, it extends from the second
year of Ahaz, when the prediction
was delivered, to the twenty-second
year of the reign of Manasseh, which
was exactly sixty-five years. In the
last-mentioned year Esarhaddon com-
pleted the depopulation of Ephraim,
by making room for the colonists
whom he transplanted thither from
various regions of the East ; or, at all
events, so intermingled the new in-
habitants with them, that they had
no longer any distinct existence in
the land. See Ezra iv. 2; and comp.
2 Chron. xxxiii. 11 ; and 2 Kings xvii.
23, 24. They had ceased to exist poli-
tically when Shalmaneser took Sa-
maria, and carried away the flower of
the nation ; but they now, in the full-
est sense of the phrase, were cut off
Dyn, ὃ. 6. DY MM, from being a people νι
the country granted to their fathers.
Another people henceforward occupied
it: this took place B. ο. 722. The ob-
jections of Gesenius, Hitzig, and
others, are fully met by Hengstenberg

00

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. VII.

And the head of Samaria, Remaliah’s son.
If ye believe not, surely ye shall not remain.

10
11

And Jehovah spake again to Ahaz, saying:
Ask for thyself a sign from Jehovah thy God,

Ask it below, or in the height above.

12

in his Christologie, so that further
notice of them is unnecessary.

The prophet, observing indications
of impatience and unbelief in the
conduct of Ahaz and his attendants,
adds the important warning, 8? ON
waNn No -pavorn, If ye will not believe,
surely ye shall not be continued, i. 6. in
the regal station. The Jewish state
shall be subverted, as was that of
Israel, if its members persevere in un-
belief. The use of the different con-
jugations of the same verb forms a
beautiful instance of antanaclasis com-
bined with paronomasia ; the latter of
which has been successfully imitated
by Theod. ἐὰν μὴ πιστεύσητε, οὐδ᾽ ov
μὴ πιστευθείητε; and in part by
Luther, Glaubet thr nicht, so bleibet
ihr nicht. The same variation in a
positive proposition occurs 2 Chron.
xx. 20.

10, 11. These and the following
verses to the end of the chapter,
contain a separate and distinct pro-
phecy, arising, indeed, out of the cir-
cumstances connected with the Syrian
invasion, but relating to a different
subject, viz. the punishment to be in-
flicted upon the Jewish state by the
Assyrians. The important prophecy
respecting the Messiah, ver. 14, &c. is
introduced as a sure basis upon which
the hopes of the pious might still
rest. It does not appear to have been
delivered at the same juncture of time
with the preceding prophecy. The
words, 122 7 FON, rather shew that
an interval had elapsed, and that
another or additional prophetic an-
nouncement is here made.—nix, LXX.

σημεῖον, Syr. 2] ᾿ Arab. δ] , from mx

in Hithp. to mark, mark out, determine,
Numb. xxxiv. 10: hence the noun
came to signify that which serves as
a token or proof of anything, (argumen-
tum, ratio rerum,) and especially a

But Ahaz said: I will not ask,

miracle, a3 the most convincing proof
of the truth and certainty of the
Divine declarations. It is also used,
as will be shewn ver. 14, to denote
some future miraculous event, the
prediction of which is designed to
produce a present effect on the minds
of those to whom it is delivered.—
Instead of xd, Aq., Symm., and
Theod. appear to have read πον ; ren-
dering βάθυνον eis ἅδην, “ Go deep into
Hades.” In this they have been fol-
lowed by Jerome, Michaelis, Lowth,
and some other moderns ; but the idea
of evoking the dead, or obtaining a mi-
racle from the abodes of the departed,
is so repugnant to the whole tenour of
Scripture, that we are compelled at
once to reject this interpretation.
In fact, nothing more seems to be
meant than what might take place
miraculously upon earth, as contrasted
with a miraculous sign in the heavens ;
just as our Lord contrasts τὰ ἐπίγεια
with ra ἐπουράνια, John iii. 12; or as
the Jews demanded a σημεῖον ἐκ τοῦ
ovpavod, in contradistinction from the
miracles which he was performing on
the earth, Matt. xvi.1. Thus Origen,
in Matt. understands the words, eis
βάθος, ἢ eis ὕψος ; and explains, καὶ ἀπὸ
γῆς καὶ ἀπὸ οὐρανοῦ. Thus also Calvin,
“vel sursum, vel deorsum: permittet
ei liberam electionem miraculi, ut vel
terrestre, vel celeste postulet.” 2» sig-
nifies not only ἕο be deep, in reference
to what is in the earth, water, &c., but
also to be low or inferior, in reference
to any thing higher in position.
Hence P22, a valley, or low ground, con-
trasted with mountains, hills, ἕο. As
to the form of the word, 780 is the
Imperative with a paragogic 7, and is
understood after 7227.

12, 13. Ahaz hypocritically pretends
that there is no necessity for any
Divine interference, and professes to
regard as sin what God had graciously

.-

CHAP. VII.]

ISATAH.

61

13 Neither will I put Jehovah to the proof. Then Isaiah said:

Hear now, O house of David :

Ts it too small a matter for you to weary out men ?
Ye must also forsooth weary out my God!
14 Nevertheless, the Lord himself will give you a sign:

accorded to him; for which he is
sharply reproved by the prophet.—
Dan ὌΨΙ, lit. cs it little from, or in com-
parison of you? i.e. do ye account it
an act not sufficiently indicative of
your depravity ? Though this reproof
also affected the princes of the house
of David, in virtue of their relation
to the incredulous monarch, yet, as
God had made a covenant of royalty
with the head of that house, that it
should not be cut off, notwithstanding
the wickedness of individual kings,
but should continue till the appear-
ance of the Rod from the stem of
Jesse, he now, by his messenger, gives
them, and such of the Jews as were
expecting the fulfilment of the ancient
prophecies, an explicit assurance, that,
whatever judgments might be brought
upon the nation forits wickedness, (and
such he was just about to denounce,)
they should not interfere with the ac-
complishment of the promise, 1 Chron,
xvii. 11. This assurance is contained
in the following verse, in which the
certainty of the birth of the promised
Seed is set forth as the ground of
continued confidence in God.

14, This verse has long been a
subject of dispute both between Jews
and professedly Christian writers, and
among the latter mutually. While
the former reject its application to
the Messiah altogether,—the earlier
rabbins explaining it of the queen of
Ahaz, and the birth of his son Heze-
kiah ; and the later, as Kimchi and

7 Abarbanel, of the prophet’s own wife,

—the great body of Christian inter-
preters have held it to be directly
and exclusively a prophecy of our
Saviour, and have considered them-
selves fully borne out by the inspired
authority of the Evangelist Matthew,
chap. i. 22, 23. Others, however,
have dissented from this construction
of the passage, and have invented, or
adopted various hypotheses in support
of such dissent. Grotius, Faber,

Isenbiehl, Hezel, Bolten, Fritsche,
Pluschke, Gesenius,and Hitzig, suppose
either the then present, or a future
wife of Isaiah to be meant by the
mov referred to. Eichhorn, Paulus,
Hensler, and Ammon, are of opinion,
that the prophet had nothing more in
view than an ideal virgin, and that
both she and her son were merely

om aseauts

king and his courtiers.
class, among whom are Richard Simon,
Le Clerc, Lowth, Koppe, Dathe, Wil-
liams, Von Meyer, Olshausen, and Dr.
J. Pye Smith, adopt the hypothesis of
a double sense: one, in which the
words applyprimarily either to some
female living in the time of the pro-
phet, and her giving birth to a son
according to the ordinary laws of
nature; or, aS Dathe holds, to some
virgin who at that time should mira-
culously conceive; and the gther, in
which they received a secondary and
plenary fulfilment in the miraculous
conception and birth of Christ.
Kleinert assumes that the whole pas-
sage relates to a vision which was
vouchsafed to the prophet. To at-
tempt a refutation of each of these
theories would require more space
than can here be spared. And, indeed,
it is rendered in a great measure
superfluous, by the self-contradictory
and mutually subversive bearings by
which they are distinguished ; while
some of them are so manifestly
formed to serve the hypotheses, as to
be totally unworthy of notice. I shall,
therefore, confine myself to the simple
philology and exegesis of the passage.

722, like the Arab. ws possesses

here a strongly exceptive force, and
expresses the introduction of a pro-
position the reverse of what might

i

62

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. VII.

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son ;

have been expected. It is best ren-
dered into English by xotwithstanding,
nevertheless, or the like. x7 28, THE
LORD HIMSELF, is emphatic. The sign
was to be given immediately or mira-
culously, and not through human in-
tervention. The verb 112 being put in
the strictly future tense, shews that
the sign, or miracle, was not one
given or wrought at the time, but
belonging to some future period. To
the application of the miracle to the
birth of Christ, it has been objected,
that a future event, and especially one
so very remote, could not possibly
have affected the minds of those to
whom the prophet addressed himself,
and cannot, indeed, be said, with any
propriety, to be a sign at all. To this
it is only necessary to reply, that no
intimation whatever is given either of
remoteness or proximity in point of
time. So far as the language is con-
cerned, the prophecy might have
received its fulfilment within a few
years, or even months, as well as at
the distant period of seven centuries.
Nothing can, therefore, be more unfair,
than to allege as a difficulty what has
no real existence. The uncertainty in
regard to time was calculated to exert
a salutary influence upon the minds
of believers, by keeping up in them
a constant expectation of the event,
just as the uncertainty of the time
of our Lord’s second advent has
always been found to operate favour-
ably upon the minds of his people.
As to that part of the objection
which denies the relevancy of the
term Mix, sigv, in application to some
future event, the simple preannounce-
ment of which was designed to induce
to present action, it is satisfactorily
met by the fact that the word is
clearly thus applied Exod. iii. 12, and
Jer. xliv. 29, 30. In both these
instances it is employed precisely as
in the present text, in reference to
what was afterwards to take place.
Comp. also 1 Sam. ii. 34. The accom-
pe it is granted, was earlier ;

ut this does not in the least affect
the question, and ought not to be
urged as an objection. Till the events
took place, they were as entirely

foreign to the experience of those to
whom they were predicted, as the
birth of our Saviour was to O. T.
believers.—27 is frequently used by
the prophets to excite attention to
the subject which they are about to
announce. When followed by a Ben.
participle, as it is in the present
instance by ΠῚ, it indicates the futu-
rity of the action specified—The
article in YT is so far definite, that gy
it marks out a particular person whom
the prophet had in his mental view ;
but it cannot, without violence, be
invested with any thing like a demon-
strative power, so as to intimate, that,
in using it, he pointed to a young
female then present, as some have
contended. That it should stand for
the pronominal affix ?, as 22%, which
Gesenius thinks probable, is perfectly
inadmissible: such a form, according
to Hebrew usage, and, indeed, accord-
ing to the wsus loguendi in all lan-
guages, would signify my daughter, or
my female servant, not my wife, or my
intended wife, which that author takes
to be the meaning. Comp. ἡ παρθένος
αὐτοῦ, 1 Cor. vii. 36. Precisely the
same degree of definiteness attaches
to mv, She who is to bear, employed
by Micah, (chap. v. 2,) who was con-
temporary with Isaiah; on which
Hitzig remarks, “Though Micah gives
expression to obscure and mysterious
matters, yet by ‘She that is to bear’
he can only mean the mother of
Messiah, to whom the suffix in YTS
refers.” Comment. iz Joc.

Respecting the etymology and sig-
nification of πρῦν, considerable differ-
ence of opinion obtains. Gesenius
and others have recourse to the Arab.

$, coéundi cupidus, libidinosus, eoque
velut furibundus fuit; whence are derived
wie, ee , adolescens, and kel, pics
adolescentula; and they endeavour to
derive support to their opinion from

the mas. 099 being used to signify ὦ
young man, 1 Sam. xvii. 56, xx. 22 ; and

2 =x Vv
from the cognates x32, JASquSS,

which, in the Aramaic dialects, signify
a young woman. It looks suspicious,

CHAP. VII.]

ISATAH.

63

And shall call his name IMMANUEL.

however, to have recourse to other
dialects in order to determine the
primary signification of a word, while
no reference whatever is made to an
indigenous root in common use.
Now it is beyond dispute, that τὸν
occurs frequently in the acceptation
to hide, be concealed, unrevealed, un-
known; and it was natural, from this
common acceptation of the verb, to
apply the nouns D7, and ποῦν, to
persons of youthful age, who were as
yet unknown to the world, and espe-
cially who were destitute of the know-
ledge which springs from sexual inter-
course. Thus Aq. renders 72%, Gen.
xxiv. 43, by ἀπόκρυφος, the LXX., as
in our present text, by παρθένος. In
the former of the two passages above
quoted from 1 Sam. it is undeniable
that extreme youth is the idea attaching
to the mas. noun; and on comparing
Gen. xxiv. 43; Exod. ii. 8; Ps. Ixviii.
26; Prov. xxx. 19; Song i. 3, vi. 8;
the only other instances in which the
fem. noun occurs, that of a young
unmarried female, and, by implication,
virgo intacta, is the most natural and
unforced. So evidently, indeed, does
this signification attach to ninwy, Song
vi. 8, where those to whom the term
is applied are distinguished both from
the 002, concubines, with whom the
king is supposed to have cohabited,
and the mi229, his royal cousorts, that it
is surprising how any other meaning
could ever have been palmed upon it.
In his animadversions prefixed to the
second vol. of Rosenmuller’s Scholia
in Comp. redacta, the learned Rabbi
5. Ὁ. Luzzatto, is obliged to acknow-
ledge respecting the two former words:
“Je ne sais pas quels caractéres distin-
guaient une ΠΡ» d’une 8298: cependant
ce texte de la Cantique suppose swus
doute que ce fussent deux conditions
différentes.” In like manner, 179%,
Prov. xxx. 19, manifestly signifies one
who is a virgin, either actually or by
reputation, up to the time of her
ceasing to be so by the successful
attempt made to corrupt her ; and so
far is the term from being synony-
mous with npx72 Tx, in the following
verse, as the Jews would have it, that
the latter is merely added for the sake

of furnishing a parallel instance of
concealment on the part of a married
female, corresponding to that em-
ployed in the former instance by the
man, to prevent his exposure to the
punishment annexed in the law of
Moses to the seduction of a virgin.
Exod. xxii. 16; Deut. xxii. 23, 24.

With respect to the text before us,
it must be considered strongly corro-
borative of the view commonly taken
of the signification of the word, that
it was rendered παρθένος by the Greek
translator at a time when no polemical
grounds existed to bias his mind ; and
that it was not till after the time of
our Lord, when Jews and Christians
had engaged in controversy respecting
the meaning of the O. T. prophecies,
that this term was changed by Aquila
and Symmachus, into νεᾶνις, a damsel.
Add to whichthe testimony of Jerome,
that in the Punic, which was a dialect
of equal antiquity with the Hebrew,
alma signified a virgin: a testimony
which is entitled to all credit, not
being in the slightest degree affected
by the attempt of Gesenius to invali-
date its authority. To the objection,
that, if the prophet had intended to
convey the idea of proper virginity,
he would have employed the word
mana, it is only necessary to reply,
that although this term appears in
some instances to have been employed
as a more definite synonyme, yet
there are others in which its use is
perfectly identical with that of 7»,
such, as Deut. xxxii. 25, ΠΡ ΓΞΓῺΞ WIT ;
2 Chron, xxxvi. 17, ΠΡ Way. Comp.
also Ps. cxlviii. 12 ; Jer. li. 22 ; in all
which passages 77na is obviously dis-
tinctive of age, and not expressly of
virginity, though it may be implied.
It is even used of a married female,
Joel i. 8, which is more than can be
affirmed of 72%y. In this instance the
LXX. has νύμφη.

The express design of the allegation
of the prophecy by the inspired Evan-
gelist, requires ποῦν to be taken in the
sense of virgin ; for on the assumption
that he merely accommodated the
passage, he could not have drawn a
lamer or more absurd conclusion, than
to have affirmed, that as Isaiah had

64

15 Butter and honey shall he eat,

ISATAH.

[CHAP. VII.

When he shall know to reject what is evil,

declared that a young married female
should bear a son after the usual
period of gestation, so the Saviour of
the world had been miraculously born
of a virgin! But that there is no
accommodation, but a strict and
proper application of the prophecy as
receiving its real fulfilment in our
Lord’s miraculous conception and
birth, the peculiar force of the lan-
guage sufficiently shows: TOYTO AE
ὍΛΟΝ γέγονεν, k.T.X.

Finally, the very circumstances of
the context in Isaiah render it im-
possible to put any other consistent
construction upon the term, since it
would be a flagrant violation of her-
meneutical propriety to maintain that
Mx, ὦ sign, 15. used ver. 14 in a sense
different from that of miracle, to
designate which it is employed ver.
11.

m7 is the fem. of the verb. adj. 7,
preguant, though as occurring in con-
nexion with n7} 727, it has the force
of a participle, and a future signi-
fication. It occurs in a similar con-
nexion, Gen. xvi. 11; Judges xii. 5;
only ΠῚ is there pointed m7, as if
contracted for AX n>, Comp. on Awa,
Ezek. viii. 16.—nxy. Three of De
Rossi’s MSS., and another originally,
two or three of the earliest editions,
the LXX., Aquila, Symmachus, and
Theod., read ΠΝ in the second
person; but the n is merely a sub-
stitute for 1, as in Deut. xxxi. 29;
Jer. xliv. 23. Comp. also Lev. xxv.
21; Ps. cxviii. 23. As it was cus-
tomary, sometimes for the father, and
sometimes for the mother, to give the
name to the child, it is not unworthy
of notice, that in the present case it
is ascribed to the virgin ; and that the
angel Gabriel charged Mary to name
the child whom she was to bear.
Καλέσουσι, Matt. i. 23, stands for the
passive κληθήσεται, aS in numerous
other instances.—In forty-three MSS.,
and thirty-nine printed editions, 22
is given in the separate form of
3222 ; but in the orthography of all
compound names, the MSS. and
editions widely differ. This name,

which signifies GOD WITH US, is a
descriptive, or characteristic title, not
a proper name. According toa Hebrew
idiom, referred to chap. i. 26, it in-
dicates, that the child to be born
should be in reality what the name
imports—OcavOparos, or, as Theodoret
explains, τὸν ἐνανθρωπήσαντα θεὸν, τὸν
τὴν ἀνθρωπείαν φύσιν ἀνειληφότα θεὸν ;
not, certainly, to the exclusion of the
idea of Divine protection and de-
liverance, but connecting these im-
mediately with the Person to whom
the name was given. Rosenmiiller ap-
positely remarks : “ Eum vero divine
futurum esse nature θεάνθρωπον mani-
festum est inde, quod in eodem hoc
vaticinio infra 9. 5, puer ille nasciturus
diserte dicitur appellandus inter alia
esse 133 ὅδ, Deus fortis.” Comment.
in loc.

15, 16. By some, the former of
these verses is referred to Immanuel,
and the latter to Shear-jashub ; but
the latter reference is founded ona
supposed demonstrative force of the
article in 29, which it does not possess.
Definitely to mark a child pointed to,
which, it has been said, the prophet
here did, the phrase must have been
ma qw23, “ This child,” as all who are
familiar with the language must per-
ceive. Wi, ver. 16, can, therefore,
refer to no other than Immanuel,
ver. 14, just as 2, chap. vill. 4, is
Maher-shalal-Hash-baz, spoken of ver.
3. Equally untenable is the con-
struction which regards Shear-jashub
as referred to by anticipation, ver. 15,
and then more definitely pointed out
ver. 16; and no interpretation com-
mends itself as consistent, but that
which applies both verses to Im-
manuel, the immediate antecedent.
This interpretation would doubtless
have long since been universally
adopted, had the connexion of these
verses with that immediately follow-
ing been perceived, or had a proper
translation been given of the latter
part of ver. 16.—The prophet, having
announced the miraculous fact of the
incarnation of the Messiah, next ad-
yerts to the sustenance by which he

CHAP. VII.]

And to choose what is good.

ISAIAH.

65

16 But before the youth shall have knowledge
To reject what is evil and to choose what is good,
The land, which thou destroyest, shall be forsaken by both its

kings.

should be nourished during the period
of his .youth ; in order, partly to in-
timate that, though his human nature
should be miraculously produced, and
sustain a most intimate union to the
Divine, yet it should not be physically
supported in a way different from that
of other children ; but chiefly to draw
attention to the period when he should
reach the years of discretion, as that
of the final cessation of the temporal
power of the Jews. “Noris, properly,
not butter, but thick or curdled milk ;

Arab. (4, n. a. pe» Turum, spissum
fuit lac. It is called in the modern

Arabic uy leben, in Turkish 24),

yugurt, and is still a favourite article
of food in Syria, Arabia, and the
neighbouring countries. Mixed with
honey, it is exceedingly agreeable to
the taste. The 2 in inyT?, is used in
its temporal acceptation, “at, or about
the time of his knowing,” or the like,
as Gen. xxiv. 63. 1 ΓΒ), 2 Sam.
XViii, 29, ΠΑΡ ΤΙΝῚ ANY PIT Tay NN Mw?
The Messiah’s “ knowing to reject evil
and to choose good” denotes more
than a single development of the
mental and moral faculties: it im-
plies that he would decidedly abhor
the one and approve the other; which
cannot be predicted of children gene-
rally, nor, indeed, of any one naturally
but him ; and the words seem further
to intimate, that he would give proofs
of such moral discrimination by sanc-
tioning what was right, and condemn-
ing what was wrong.

Αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ θυμῷ νοέω καὶ οἶδα ἕκαστα,
Ἔσθλά τε, καὶ τὰ χέρα᾽ (πάρος δ᾽ ἔτι

νήπιος ἤα.)---Οἰἶγδ5. xviii. 227.

TI 9—7INT yA. These words have
usually been referred to Syria and
Ephraim, and are supposed to be in-
tended for comfort to Ahaz; but the
close connexion in which they stand
with the following verse, presents a

formidable objection to such exegesis ;
not to insist on the incongruity of as-
signing two kings to either of those
countries. By 72787 is meant the land,
by way of eminence—the land of Ca-
naan, called iT ΓΟ, Jehovah's land,
xiv. 2, and Immanuel’s land, Vili. 8.
Though divided into two kingdoms
after the revolt of the ten tribes, it
still formed the possession which God
claimed as his peculiar inheritance.
This interpretation is confirmed by
the distinct reference made to the re-
volt, ver. 17. The two kings, there-
fore, were not those of Israel and
Syria ; but those of Israel and Judah.
The punishment of the former had
been predicted, ver. 8; that of the
latter is explicitly denounced in this
and the following verses.— 229 is to be
construed with 12m, not with yz. The
latter verb is followed, indeed, by this
adverbial form, Exod. 1. 12 ; Numb.
xxii. 3; but it is also used after the
verb xv, Isaiah xvii. 9, and appears,
in such connexion, to have no more
force than 72, as in Lev. xxvi. 43,
Dap IA YwM.—y7p has here the sense
of cutting, breaking up, disturbing, &c.
just as Hiph. is used, ver. 6. The
prophet pointedly accuses Ahaz of
breaking up or destroying the peace
of the whole land—his sins being the
cause of the Syrian invasion, which
not only disturbed the tranquillity of
Judah, but also that of Israel, through
which the foreign army passed on its
way. 0222 kings, stands here, as in
Dan. vii. 17; Rev. xvii. 10, for hing-
doms or dominions, in which a sove-
reign and independent authority was
exercised. As it respected Judah,
the prophecy received its accomplish-
ment when Archelaus was banished,
and Judea reduced to a Roman pro-
vince. This took place in the twelfth
year of our Lord—the very year in
which he evinced his wonderful dis-
crimination by disputing with the
doctors in the temple, Luke ii. 42, 46.

66

17

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. VII.

For Jehovah shall bring upon thee,

And upon thy people, and upon thy father’s house,

Days, such as have not come,

From the day that Ephraim revolted from Judah :

—The king of Assyria.
18

And it shall come to pass in that day,

Jehovah shall whistle for the fly
Which is at the end of the streams of Egypt;
And for the bee which is in the land of Assyria;

19

And they shall all of them come, and rest

In the desolate valleys and the fissures of the rocks,

17. The words, 1x ¥? ms, the hing

of Assyria, Houbigant, Secker, Lowth,
Gesenius, Hitzig, and Hendewerk, con-
sider to have been originally a mar-
ginal gloss, and they accordingly either
cancel them, or put them in Italics,
They appear, however, to have been
rendered necessary as an epexegesis
to the somewhat indefinite announce-
ment which had just been made ; and,
as the Assyrian power was to be a
more destructive instrument in the
hand of God against the Jews than
the Egyptians, and was doubtless pro-
minently in the mind of the prophet,
I should rather conclude, with Scholz,
that the words are genuine. At all
events, they are found in all the MSS.
and versions, and ought not to be ex-
punged from the text. Under Wx,
Assyria, is also comprehended Babylon,
as 2 Kings xxiii. 29 ; Lam. v. 6; comp.
Ezra vi. 22; in which last cited pas-
sage even Darius, the king of Persia,
is called the king of Assyria; so that
the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar is
predicted, as well as the incursions of
the Assyrian kings, strictly so called.
The punishment began to be inflicted
by Tiglath-pileser, 2 Chron. xxviii. 16
—21, and was renewed by Sennacherib,
and succeeding monarchs.

18. For the meaning of 7%, see chap.
v.26. By »i) are meant not only flies,
but musquitoes, gnats, &c. which are
found in immense swarms in the
marshes adjacent to the mouths of the
Nile. Some idea may be formed of
their formidable character, from the
description given by Spencer of the
poisonous flies which annoyed him on

his voyage down the Danube. They
make their appearance, he says, during
the first great heat of summer, in
such numbers, as to seem like large
volumes of smoke ; their attacks are
directed against every species of quad-
ruped; they cover simultaneously
every vulnerable part of the animal,
and torture him so that he dies in a
few hours. A more apt metaphor
could not have been employed, by
which to set forth the numerous army
of the Egyptians under Pharaoh
Necho, who slew Josiah, and exacted
a tribute from the land of Judah of
an hundred talents of silver and a
talent of gold, 2 Kings xxiii. 29—35.
—nonyn “Rk, the streams of Egypt, i.e.
the arms of the Delta, with the sub-
ordinate branches into which the Nile
is divided below Cairo, chap. xi. 15.—
m1, used collectively like the pre-
ceding noun, for dees, and likewise
metaphorically employed to denote
numerous and dangerous enemies.
Comp. Deut. i. 44; Ps. exviii. 12.

The latter noun is the plural of πῇ,
chap. v. 6; from nn3, Arab. 2H, 40

cut, cut off, lay entirely waste.—7??72 sig-
nifies a rent or fissure in a rock ; ΥἾΞΨΣ,
the thorn bush, which Gesenius conjec-
tures to be the lotus spinosa; Chald.
y22 fo prick, make punctures; and 7,
pasture ground, from 773, to guide, con-
duct, lead out cattle, as 1272, from 131.
The two latter nouns are intensive in
form, the third radical being doubled.
The design of the particular specifi-

CHAP. VII. |

ISATAH.

67

And on all the thorn-bushes, and on all the pastures.
20 In that day shall the Lord shave with the hired razor,
From beyond the river—the king of Assyria—
The head, and the hair of the feet ;
And it shall also scrape off the beard.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day,
That a man shall keep a young heifer and two sheep ;

22 And it shall be,

cation of places in this verse, was to
intimate that the number of the in-
vading foes would be so great, and
that they would so completely over-
run the country, that not even the
most remote uninhabited parts would
be free from them. .

20. A further description of the As-
syrian army which Jehovah would
employ against the Jews.—77207 “wn.
This noun is feminine with a mascu-
line termination, as the 7 in 772%, and
the femin. preformant in 720A shew;
so that there is no necessity, with
some, to transfer the article from the
adjective, and read myn. Such a form
nowhere occurs. The article is here
used instead of the relative pronoun,
on account of the following 772 3,
with which the adjective is closely
connected. The LXX., as their ren-
dering is exhibited in the Alex. Codex,
ἐν τῷ ξυρῷ τῷ μεμεθυσμένῳ, and after
them the Syriac, must have read,
ΠΥ , most probably deeming such
pareeo Oey parallel to that of Moses,

eut. xxxll. 42, O72 ἘΠ YaUx. In the
idea of the king of Assyria being
hired, there is obviously a reference to
the sum paid by Ahaz to that king
for his assistance, 2 Kings xvi. 7, 8 ;
though the hire here spoken of con-
sisted in the booty derived from sub-
sequent spoliations of Judea by the
Assyrian power. Comp. Ezek. xxix.
20.—73, in the prophetic style, signi-
fies κατ᾽ ἐξοχὴν, the Huphrates,and does
not require the article, which Lowth,
on the authority of only two MSS.
would supply. See Jer. ii. 18. That
the plural 3¥ cannot be understood
of the people inhabiting the regions
beyond the Euphrates, but must sig-
nify the regions themselves, is manifest
from the epexegesis, Wx 7723.—D277,

the feet, an euphemistic mode of ex-
pression. Comp. Gen. xlix. 10; Deut.
xxvul. 57; Isaiah xxxvi. 12, in the
Keri.—729 properly signifies ¢o scrape,
scrape off, and is selected for the pur-
pose of increasing the idea of igno-
miny, conveyed by the removal of
the hair from the different parts of
the body. The proper term to ex-
press shaving is that used in the
beginning of the verse. The import
of this highly figurative language is,
that, by means of the Assyrians,
Jehovah would despoil the country
of whatever was held in honour and
esteem.

21. The prophet now describes the
state of the country after its having
been depopulated. Owing to the want
of men and cattle, the land would re-
main uncultivated. Instead of nume-
rous flocks and herds, a single cow
and a couple of sheep would be all
that any one would have left to him,
Valuable vineyards would be so over-
run with thickets, that it would be
dangerous to enter them unarmed, on
account of the wild beasts that made
them their haunts; and the only
places to which it would be found
possible to turn out cattle, would be
the sides of the hills, which would
furnish abundance of pasturage for
the few that might remain. The
result would be, that the chief sus-
tenance would be milk and wild honey.
wa nay, lit. a calf of the herd, but used
as a diminutive for a heifer, instead of
™M2.—JN2 may either mean sheep or
goats, being used as a generic term for
small cattle. i

22. After ™N subaud. x77 013,
in niwy, lit. the making of milk: to pro-
duce milk, like “2 τῶν, to produce fruit.
For N97, see on ver. 15. Though at

68

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. VII.

That, from the abundant production of milk, they shall eat

butter ;

Yea, butter and honey shall every one eat,

That is left in the land.
23

And it shall come to pass in that day,

That, in every place, where there were a thousand vines,

At a thousand pieces of silver,

There shall be thorns and briers.

24

With the arrows and the bow shall men enter it;

For the whole land shall be thorns and briers.

25
hoe,

But to none of the mountains, which may be cleared with the

Shalt thou go, afraid of thorns and briers ;
It shall be a place to which to send the cattle;
And where the sheep may range.

first view, what is here specified might
appear to be a promise of good, it is
in effect a denunciation of evil: the
abundance being limited to the two
articles mentioned, instead of being
extended to the great variety result-
ing from a state of agricultural pros-
perity. The 3 has no reference what-
ever to ver. 15, as Hendewerk would
construe it. It merely asserts that
the articles of food would be such as
an uncultivated state of the country
would afford. There having been a
diminution of the inhabitants, the
land would lie waste, and be occupied
only by nomades. The bees also, un-
molested, would have an opportunity
of gathering abundance of honey.

23. FDI ANZ 183 AWN is descriptive of
large and productive vineyards. The
vines are supposed to have been of so
excellent a kind, that they were esti-
mated at a silver shekel a piece. D2
stands for 72970, the fuller form.
Burkhardt mentions, that on Mount
Lebanon, in 1811, the vines were sold
at the price of a piastre each, 7. ὁ.
about one shilling and seven pence
sterling. The silver shekel was equal
to two shillings three pence farthing
and a half. That the estimate of
the prophet refers to the sale, and not

to the annual rent of the vines, seems
beyond dispute; for though it is
stated, Song viii. 11, that each of the
keepers of Solomon’s vineyard at Ba-
alhamon was to pay ADD FRX, a thou-
sand shekels, yet it is expressly said to
be the produce of the fruit, and no
mention is made of the number of
the vines.

24, 25. The occurrence of ΠΕ, fear,
in connexion with the briers and
thorns in the latter of these verses,
shews that the employment of the
bow and arrows was not for the pur-
pose of hunting the wild beasts, but
for self-protection. i872 signifies
all the low and level parts of the
country that had been cultivated ;
with which are contrasted 0777 %,
the hilly or mountainous regions men-
tioned in the following verse. A new
beginning might be made to cultivate
the ground, yet not with oxen, as in
prosperous times, but only with hand
implements.

NNY—NiINN? has occasioned con-
siderable difficulty, but entirely owing
to the verb having been taken in the
third person feminine. If read as the
second masculine all is plain, Supply
y2 before πεν,

CHAP. VIII.|

ISAIAH.

69

CHAPTER ὙΠ].

Isaiah reverts in this chapter to the subject of the overthrow of the confede-

rate powers of Israel and Syria by the king of Assyria.

He relates the

measures which he was directed to employ for notifying the certainty and
proximity of the event, 1—4 ; denounces the Divine judgments against the
ten tribes for their rebellious conduct, 5—8; gives assurances that the
machinations and attempts which were directed against Judah, should prove
abortive, 9, 10; exhorts to persevering confidence in God, and his revela-

tions, 11—20 ; and describes the calamitous condition of the inhabitants of
Ephraim, in consequence of the Assyrian invasion, 21, 22.

1 Anp Jehovah commanded me: Take thee a large tablet, and
write upon it with a man’s writing instrument, For MAunEr-

1. The prophet first receives a com-
mand to exhibit, in large characters,
words prognostic of the sudden attack
of the Assyrian army; and then
another, to give them as a symbolical
name to a son that was to be born to
him, 73, not ὦ roll, as if derived
from 2, ¢o roll, roll up; but a tablet,
or smooth plate, from 133, to make bare ;

mW

Arab. uss to polish. The Hebrews

not only used m2, rolls of linen, skin,
&c., but likewise ¢adlets of polished
brass, stone, or wood, for the purposes
of writing, which last were either
simple, or covered with wax. Among
the ancients, the materials on which
it was customary to write, differed
according to the different purposes of
the writing. Stone, brass, lead, wood,
and the like, were employed when the
design was to promulgate public de-
crees, or record memorable events for
posterity. For common or private
purposes, the more usual materials
were leaves, the inner bark of trees,
wooden tablets covered with wax,
ivory, linen cloth and papyrus, or
Egyptian paper. The laws of Solon
were inscribed on tablets of wood,
called ἄξονες. To such tablets the
Greeks also gave the name of κύρβεις.
See Eschenburg’s Man. of Class. Lit.
These tablets were likewise called in

Hebrew nim, and were employed by
the prophets for the purpose of pub-
licly exhibiting such portions of their
communications as had some imme-
diate object in view. Chap. xxx. 8;
Hab. ii. 2. Isaiah was commanded,
on the present occasion, to take a /arge
tablet, in order that there might be
ample space for the words being writ-
ten in large characters, that, when
exposed in public, they might be
easily legible by all. For the same
reason, Habakkuk was ordered to make
the words of his vision plain by dig-
ging them deep into the material
which he employed, chap. 11, 2.—
Wx OM, lit. the pen of man, but used
idiomatically for a common pen, just as
ἀριθμὸς ἀνθρώπου, Rey. xii. 18, means
an ordinary wamber ; and μέτρον ἀν-
θρώπου, Rev. xxi. 17,a measure common
among men. Thus, also, in the N, Τὶ
a thing is said to be κατ᾽ ἄνθρωπον
when it is in accordance with the |
usual views, dispositions, or practices

of men. lLowth’s version, “a work-
mans graving tool,’ is not borne out
by Hebrew usage. The 01) was pro-
perly the style, στύλος, γραφεῖον, yAv-
φεῖον, employed for writing on harder
materials, It was made of iron or
ivory, pointed at the one end, and
broad at the other for the purpose of
erasing letters, especially when they

I

70

ISATAH.

[CHAP. VIII.

2 sHALAL-Hasn-BaAz; and that I should take unto me faithful
witnesses, Urijah the priest, and Zechariah theson of Jeberechiah.
3 And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bare a
son; and Jehovah said to me: Call his name MAHER-SHALAL-

4 Hasn-Baz. For before the

child shall know to ery “My

Father” and “My Mother,” the wealth of Damascus, and the

were written on tablets covered with
wax. The word, however, is not to
be taken literally in this passage, but
metonymically, for characters, or the
letters formed by the pen; as we say:
a person writes a good hand, his style
is excellent, &. Thus the Targ.
oH 202, a clear writing. Some sup-
pose that ordinary writing is here
opposed to hierotic characters ; but
there is no reason to suppose that the
Jewish priests employed a peculiar
alphabet, except, indeed, we assume,
that in the time of the prophet the
ancient Phoenician forms of the letters
were confined to the sacred Scriptures,
and that others, more approximating
to the square letters now in use, had
come to be employed for ordinary
writings, which is not altogether des-
titute of probability. The Arabs have
their Kufic and Neshi characters ; the
Syrians their Estrangelo and Peshito ;
and the Persians, their Neshki, Taalic,
and Shekesteh.—The writing was to
consist of the four words, 12 OT 978 379.
The > belongs to the entire inscription,
and is used like the Greek τό, prefixed
to a clause. Though the former of
the two words is in the infinitive, yet
the latter, being the third person of
the Preterite, shews that they are
both to be rendered as finite forms :
He hastes to the spoil, he speeds to the
prey. The nominative is the Assyrian
monarch understood.

2. τον, The paragogic 7 evinces
that this verb is not to be construed
as a converted future, but as a future
subjunctive, prosecuting in indirect
language what had been commenced
in the direct form. The persons to
be selected as witnesses to the fact,
that the prophet had written the
words in question at the time, were
two of distinguished notoriety at
Jerusalem; the one, the High Priest,
who, though he afterwards humoured

the king in the matter of the Syrian
altar, 2 Kings xvi. 10—16, was at the
time possessed of great weight and
authority ; and the other, in all proba-
bility, filled the prophetical office.
They were both 09283, persons worthy
of credit, whose testimony in reference
to the matter might be relied on.

3. 298) begins a new paragraph,
and describes what took place subse-
quent to the performance of what was
enjoined in the preceding verses.
The term is euphemistic. Comp.

Gen. xx. 4; the Arab. Ley 35 35, ne
ergo approvimetis illis, Koran. Sur. ii.
183; and the Eth TPAM, as
A tT PN: Ne accedas ad eam,i.e.

ne concumbas cum ea. Hom. Marize.—
The name 1), prophetess, does not
imply that she was such officially,
but merely indicates her relation to
Isaiah. There is no ground whatever
for supposing that she was any other
than the mother of Shear-jashub ;
and every attempt to identify her
with the 2%, chap. vii. 14, has failed.
—The words which had been inscribed
on the tablet are appropriated as a
symbolical name of the new-born son
of the prophet. It is the longest of
any of the Scripture names; but has
its parallels in this respect in other
languages, especially in our own at the
time of the Commonwealth.

4, 8 and ἘΝ are onomatopoética,
and are found in numerous languages ;
only in most the consonants precede
the vowels. ‘Thus the Turkish and

Persic bb ; the Greek πάπας, πάππας,

hence παππάζειν; μάμα, pappa, μάμμη 5
and our own papa, mamma, contracted
pa, ma. The reason of the transfer of
the mysterious words to the child is
assigned, and the meaning is, that in

CHAP. VIII. |

ISATAH.

71

spoil of Samaria, shall be carried away before the king of

Assyria.

5 And Jehovah further spake to me, saying:

6 Because this people despiseth

The waters of Shiloah, which flow softly,

And have their joy in Rezin, the son of Remaliah ;
7 Therefore, behold, the Lord will bring up upon them

The strong and mighty waters of the river—

The king of Assyria and all his glory :—

little more than a year, both Syria and
Ephraim should be conquered.—xw,
impersonally, oxe shall carry away, for
shall be carried away.—VWs 0 ἜΡ,
“before the king of Assyria.’ There
is here an allusion to the ancient
custom of carrying in triumph before
the victor the spoils taken from the
enemy. For the fulfiment, see 2
Kings xv. 29, xvi. 9.

5, 6. Gesenius and others endeavour
to shew, that the people referred to
in these verses are the Jews, and not
the ten tribes; but the assumption of
defection from Ahaz, on the part of
the great body of the nation who had
joined the enemy, which is necessary
to support the hypothesis, is entirely
without foundation. 37 Dy7, though
spoken by Isaiah in Judah, refers to
the foreigners who were the subject
of the preceding prediction, and who
are further described as exulting in
the valour and prowess of their kings.
Self-confident, they treated with con-
tempt the Jewish state—WD Ὁ, the
water of Shiloah, flowed from M7 N2}3,
the pool of Shelah, Neh. iii. 15, and was
conveyed by an aqueduct to the royal
residence. See note on chap. vii. 3.
Owing, perhaps, to this latter circum-
stance, or to that of the king’s being
anointed in the vicinity, 1 Kings i.
32—40, it was employed as an image
of the house of David. Considering
its noiseless flow and diminutive size,
it formed a most appropriate emblem
of the state of that house at the time,
in reference to its enemies; and was
selected by the prophet in order to
contrast with it the large and resistless
Euphrates, vers. 7 and 8, the emblem
of the king of Assyria. win, Hitzig
takes to be the Infinitive Construct of

wp, which, though not in use, he
considers to be the same as 002, fo
melt, be afraid of ; and renders, “And
are afraid of Rezin and the son of
Remaliah;” but it is better, with
Gesenius, Rosenmiiller, and Hende-
werk, to regard it as the noun v9,
in the Construct state, only used for
the Infinitive. The Construct is thus
the genitive of object, not of pos-
Session.

7. That by "027 Ὁ, as opposed to
ria Ὁ, ver. 6, we are to understand
the Zuphrates, is beyond dispute.
This noble river, so frequently referred
to in Scripture, has its source in the
mountains of Armenia, and running
in a south and south-easterly direction,
and, uniting with the Tigris below
Babylon, flows into the Persian gulf,
As far as Bir it is impetuous in its
course; after this it flows more or
less gently through the plains of
Mesopotamia ; but, like the Nile, has
its annual inundations, in consequence
of the melting of the snow in Ar-
menia, during which it often covers
great part of the adjacent country.
To prevent, as much as possible, the
injury committed by these inunda-
tions, and to divert the water so as
profitably to irrigate the fields, nume-
rous canals were dug, and embank-
ments were raised, some of which
were of considerable strength. These
canals the prophet calls D758, which
is used both of pipes or tubes, Job xl.
18, and of the beds or channels of
streams, Ezek. xxxii. 6, and by me-
tonymy of brooks, and the valleys
through which they flow, Ps. xlii. 2;
Job vi. 15.—3, a bank or embankment ;

Chald. ὅτ», a wall; Arab. d=, ὦ shore,

72

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. VIII.

And it shall rise over all its channels,

And pass over all its banks,
And shall flow into Judah,

Overflowing and passing through ;

It shall reach to the neck ;

And the spreadings of his wings

Shall cover the entire breadth

or coast.—iH13°%3) VOX 772 Mx, the king
of Assyria and all his glory, Gesenius,
and some other German writers, con-
sider to be a gloss; but the style is
quite in keeping with chap. vii. 17, 20,
and the frequent use of such epexe-
gesis was necessary, that the Jews
might have no excuse for their un-
belief in the alleged obscurity of
figurative language. By the 123, glory,
of the king of Assyria, is to be under-
stood his zoble warriors. Nothing
could more fitly represent the incur-
sion of a large and powerful army,
than the inundation of a river, which
breaks through every barrier that is
thrown in its way, and sweeps all
before it.

8. Though the Assyrian power was
first to invade the land of Israel, and
carry away its spoils, it is here added,
that Judah also should suffer. The
prophecy was fulfilled in the days of
Hezekiah, when Sennacherib spread
his troops over the whole country,
and might figuratively be said to
“reach even to the neck,” when he
besieged Jerusalem. The metropolis
alone held its head above the water.
The verbs *7, ow, and 73¥, are chiefly
employed to increase the effect of the
description; yet there is the most
exact propriety in the order in which
they occur ; 420, signifying to pass out
of one condition into another, indi-
cates the commencement of the inun-
dation; 2, the overwhelming rush
of the waters into the country; and
12Y, their progress across its surface.
Comp. the Iliad, E. 87, &c:

Θῦνε yap ἀμπεδίον, ποταμῷ πλήθοντι

ἐοικὼς,

Χειμάῤῥῳ, dor’ ὦκα ῥέων.

D232. The prophet here drops the
figure of an overflowing river, and
employs that of the extended wings of
a bird, which, in various languages, are

of thy land, O IMMANUEL!

applied to the flanks or side-bodies of
an army, because of their stretching
out from the centre, and covering the
ground which they occupy. See chap.
xvili.l. In the same acceptation, D228
is used, Ezek, xii. 14; xvii. 21; xxxviii.
6. Chald. 73, @ wing.—ni®2 is a verbal
noun from the Hophal of 3, fo extend.
—ywoy aw. That the latter word
is here to be regarded as the name to
be given to the child whose birth is
predicted, chap. vii. 14, and that he is
personally addressed, is the construc-
tion put upon the passage in the
Syriac version and that of Saadias,
and is admitted both by Gesenius and
Hitzig. On the principle of the former
of these commentators, it cannot be
denied that Judea might be ealled the
land of Immanuel, because it was his
native country; but if by Immanuel
we are to understand, not the son of
the prophet, nor any child then born,
or shortly to be born, but the promised
Messiah: then, though it will hold
true that Judea was his country in
that sense, it must also be maintained
that it was his in a still higher sense,
—namely, that in which it is called
mm mow, chap. xiv. 2; 77 YX, Hos.
ix. 3; τὰ ἴδια, John i. 11,—not so
much the country to which he be-
longed, as that which belonged to
him; his own peculiar property. The
suddenness of the apostrophe requires
this interpretation, since it would be
utterly pointless were we to assume
that any ordinary person was meant.
“Plena igitur sententia est: copiz
hostiles pervadent et replebunt terram
tuam, O Immanuel! Ergo si terra hac
sit terra tua, si id es vere quod tuum
nomen significat, miserere populi tui
et fer opem. Immanuelem futurum
Deum ipsum natura humana induen-
dum, vidimus, supra ad vil. 14.”
Rosenm. ἐμ Joc.

CHAP. ΥὙ111.]}

ISAIAH.

73

9 Be enraged, O ye people, yet ye shall be broken in pieces—
And hear it, all ye distant parts of the earth:
Gird you, yet ye shall be broken in pieces ;
Gird you, yet ye shall be broken in pieces.

10

Form a purpose, yet it shall be defeated ;

Speak the word, yet it shall not stand ;

- For Gop IS WITH US.

For thus said Jehovah to me,

with a mighty impulse,

And warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,

12

Ye shall not say, There is a confederacy,

Of any thing whereof this people may say, There is a confederacy :

9. The prophet now turns abruptly
to the immediate enemies of Judah ;
and while he summons distant nations
to listen to his prediction, he ironically
commands the former to put forth
their utmost energies, with the assur-
ance that it would only issue in their
own destruction.—™, Secker and
Lowth, on no other authority than
that of the LXX., would read ©,
γνώτε, know ye; but they have not
even the support of a parallelism, to
which the Bishop appeals; for the
next clause of the verse is manifestly
parenthetical. Some would derive
the verb from πρὶ, to be friendly, asso-
ciate, &c. and refer to Prov. xviii. 24
for a confirmation of such derivation ;
but that passage requires »yn7 to be
rendered, destroyeth himself—the result
of his propensity to be always in
company. It can only properly be
taken here as the Imper. of YY}, in the
signification of raging, giving tumul-
tuous vent to an evil disposition. The
repetitions which follow are for the
sake of emphasis. For xn, Hitzig
aptly compares the full form x78
Psa ὍΣ, Job xxxviil. 3. When two
imperatives occur, as in this verse,
the former is ironically concessive,
and the latter declarative or minatory.

10, A continuation of the preceding,
both as to form and meaning, The
form 12» likewise occurs, Jud. xix. 30,
and in a similar combination, 27) 92».
It is contracted from ἸΞῚν".--- τ 721
refers to the issuing of orders to carry
into effect the purposes formed in the
council of the enemy.—8 9Y is here
to be taken, not as the name of

IMMANUEL, but as an appropriation of
its import ; not, however, without a
recognition of Him to whom the name
belonged. Jerome resolves it thus:
“nobiscum est Deus, id est, Emmanuel.”
Except we put this construction upon
the words, we must suppose the pro-
phet simply to introduce the name of
the Great Deliverer, “For IMMANUEL,”
—and then leave the conclusion to be
drawn from its signification: but such
an instance of abrupt ἀτελείωσις is, I
believe, without example in the He-
brew Scriptures.

11. WI np, lit. with the strength of
the hand, or his hand, meaning ὦ mighty
impulse. Tis frequently used to denote
the Divine impulse experienced by the
prophets in a state of inspiration;
hence it is said to be upon them, come,
fall upon them, Ezek. i. 3; 2 Kings iii.
15; Ezek. vii. 1. In Ezek. iii. 14, we
have ΠῚ myn V, the hand of Jehovah
was strong upon me, which is equivalent
to the Infinitive form here employed.
Thus the Targ. 8ns12) ApNNa, iz the
power of prophecy. “Taking me by
the hand,” which is Lowth’s rendering,
is, therefore, erroneous; as is his
substitution of 3 for 3, though upwards
of forty MSS., eight printed Editions,
the Syriac, and Symmachus in Pro-
copius, have the former reading.

12. Wp, from Wp, ἐο bind, may either
signify ὦ conspiracy within a state, or
a confederacy against it from without.
It is used here in the latter accepta-
tion, to denote the league between
the kings of Israel and Syria. Σκληρὸν
of the LXX. has arisen from their
erroneously reading πῦρ, instead of

T's)

74 ISAIAH. [CHAP. VIII.

Be not ye afraid with their fear ;

Neither do ye dread.

18. Jehovah of Hosts himself ye shall sanctify ;
He shall be your fear, and he your dread.
14 For he shall become a Sanctuary ;
But a stone to strike against, and a rock of stumbling

To both the houses of Israel ;

A snare and a trap to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
τας And: many shall stumble at them, and fall, and be broken,

wp, a mistake easily made. The
idea of idolatrous objects of wor-
ship, which Lowth introduces, as a
conjecture of Secker’s, altering and
transposing the letters of the word
into τ, is not borne out by usage,
and is quite foreign to the passage.
While the Israelites might boast of
the confederacy as formidable, and the
unbelieving Jews might view it in the
same light, the prophet was strictly
charged not to imitate them, (n2%
7273,) since, in the Divine estimation,
it was undeserving of the name ; and
would, by the instrumentality em-
ployed by God, speedily be broken
up.— nw, the genitive of object, that
of which they are afraid.

18. DKW and dz WwW are likewise
genitives of object. The addition of
ink, Hr, to the preceding accusative,
gives peculiar emphasis in such con-
nexion. ΤῸ sanctify God, means here
to cherish and evince a due sense of
his character, as worthy of entire
confidence, being able to defeat all
the enemies of his people, and faith-
ful to fulfil his promises of protection
and deliverance. Comp. 1 Pet. iii. 14,
15, where the words are quoted ad
sensum ; and, according to the reading
Κύριον τὸν Χριστὸν, found in the MSS.
A BC 7, 13, 33 in Marg. 69, 137, and
others ; both the Syriac versions ; the
Arab. of Erpen., the Coptic, Sahidic,
Armenian, Vulgate, Clement, and
Fulgentius, are applied expressly to
our Saviour, in whom Christians are
commanded to place the same reli-
gious confidence which the prophet
challenges for Jehovah of Hosts.

14, 15, way, suggested by Ww pH,
ver. 13: ὦ sanctuary in the sense of
asylum or refuge, to which persons fled

from those who would deprive them
of life. Among the ancients, altars,
temples, and other sacred places,
afforded such protection, no person
daring to shed blood, or do violence
to any who had placed themselves in
immediate contact with the deities
supposed to be there resident. Pollux.
Onomast. lib. i, cap. 1. Pausan.
Corinth. lib. ii. cap. 19, Calmet, Asy-
lum. That the same privilege was
claimed and enjoyed by the Hebrews
appears from Exod. xxi. 13, 14; 1
Kings i. 50, 51 ; ii. 28; though in the
latter instance, in accordance with the
Mosaic enactment, it was withheld
from a notorious murderer. Though
wp is the term otherwise employed
for refuge, that here used occurs again
in the same acceptation, Ezek. xi. 16.
The LXX., in which it is more com-
monly rendered ἅγιον and ἁγιάσμα,
has ἁγιάσμον in the present instance,
which has given rise to iz sanctifica-
tionem of the Vulg. and a similar
rendering in versions derived from
the same source. What shews that
it is to be understood in the sense of
asylum, is the antithesis in which it
stands to the following words, 422 }28
and 22 wz: in the use of which
there is an evident rise in the idea,
—a rock being more than a stone,
and stumbling so as completely to fall,
more than sfriking one’s foot against
a stone. Both combinations, however,
are intended to express the occasion
of injury and ruin to those who are
the subjects of such fall. The cir-
cumstance, that both the houses of
Israel, and especially the inhabitants
of Jerusalem, are particularly specified,
together with the distinction made,
verses 15 and 16, between the many .

Ἂ

CHAP. VIII. |

ISAIAH.

75

And shall be ensnared and taken.

16 Bind up the testimony ;
Seal the law for my disciples.
17 I also will wait for Jehovah,

who should “be ensnared,” &c. and
“the disciples of the Lord,’ evinces
that something very different from
the Babylonish captivity must be
meant. The true interpretation is
furnished in the inspired prediction
of Simeon, Luke ii. 34, and the equally
inspired application of the passage by
Paul, Rom. ix. 32, 33; and by Peter,
1 Epist. 11. 8. That it was also re-
garded by the more ancient Rabbins
to refer to the Messiah, is manifest
from a passage in the book of the
Talmud, entitled Sanhedrin, in which
it is expressly applied to him as the
Son of David, who was to come after
the subversion of the two divisions
of the Hebrew people ; see Raymundi
Pug. Fid. Edit. Carpzov. p. 405. The
accomplishment we find in the salva-
tion enjoyed by believers in the
Redeemer, and the aggravated and
still continuing ruin of the Jews—
D2 is not to be rendered “among
them,” as in our common version :
the pron. suff. belonging to 13 and
wz; and the 3 being required after
782, to indicate that against which any
one stumbles. This verb is here a
vox pregnans, and includes 423, ¢o
strike, strike the foot against any object.
For the idea of ensnarement, comp.
Prov. vi. 2; Isaiah xxvii. 13; Rom.
χη 9:

16. TPA occurs only here, and Ruth
iv. 7, where it is used to denote an
established testimony. It 15. equi-
valent to nv, both being derived from
ἬΝ, to bear witness, testify.—D 2) is
employed twice besides by our pro-
phet, chap. 1. 4, and liv. 13, and by
him alone; and here denotes those
who were taught by the Messiah to
make him their 37), sanctuary, im
contradistinction from those who
stumbled at him to their utter ruin,
ver. 15. The LXX, have strangely

misunderstood this verse, rendering.

it, τότε φανεροὶ ἔσονται οἱ σφραγιζόμενοι
τὸν νόμον τοῦ μὴ μαθεῖν ; but Aquila
has given it rightly, ἔνδησον μαρτύριον"

σφράγισαι νόμον ἐν τοῖς διδακτοῖς pov.
Gesenius takes much pains to prove
that the reference is to verses 1, 2;
but Hitzig shews that the position is
utterly untenable. The verb 1 can
only properly apply to the wrapping
up of a ἜΘ, or volume, and cannot
without violence be used in reference
to a large tablet. Besides, the tablet
was designed to be hung up in public,
and not be handed down to posterity.
The words apply to the prophetic
testimonies which had just been borne
to the Messiah, and other prophetic
matter then in existence, together
with the law, in its more extended
signification, as comprising the rest of
the Jewish Scriptures. These might
be unheeded, or misconstrued, as in-
deed they were, by the great body of
the nation ; but they would minister
needful instruction and comfort to
the disciples of Christ. For their
benefit, they were carefully to be
preserved. 3 denotes the relation of
effect, as Ps. Ixviii, 19, D2 ΤῊΣ ANP,
“thou hast received gifts for men,”
i.e. with a view to their benefit,
Vitringa’s construction, which takes
3in the sense of zz, is founded upon
an interpretation of 2, which he
supposes to be the root of the verb,
altogether unwarranted by Hebrew
usage. The passages he adduces yield
it no support.—The speaker is not
the prophet, but the Messiah whom
the Jews were to reject, but who here
evinces his care for those who should
not be offended in him, but who
should humbly receive his doctrines.
17, 18. The same person who speaks
in the preceding verse continues his
discourse in these. To apply them to
Isaiah would disturb the unity of the
passage, and subject it to the operation
of principles which would unsettle the
foundations of all consistent inter-
pretation. The words have no reference
to the symbolical names given to two
of his children, as the connexion
clearly evinces ; and to view them as

76

ISATAH.

[CHAP. VIII.

Who hideth his face from the house of Jacob,

And I will expect him.

18 Behold I and the children whom Jehovah hath given me,
Are for signs and wonders in Israel ;

From Jehovah of Hosts,

Who dwelleth in mount Zion.

19 And when they shall say to you,
Apply to the necromancers and the wizards,

typical in their import, it must be
shewn, on solid scriptural grounds, in
what respects the prophet was a type
of Christ, and how Shear-jashub and
Maher-shalal-Hash-baz were types of
the apostles, or of Christians gene-
rally. Isaiah was, indeed, constituted
nao nix, a sign and a wonder, on occa-
sion of the expedition of Tartan, but
he continued to be such only for three
years ; and then he was not a type of
the Messiah, but of the denuded
Egyptians and Ethiopians whom that
general was to carry into captivity,
chap. xx. Thus also Ezekiel is said
to have been nin, a wonder, chap.
xxiv. 24, because his appearance and
conduct on a particular occasion were
designed to excite astonishment, and
draw the attention of the Jews to
their approaching desolate and un-
happy condition. The associates of
Joshua the high priest are called ‘tix
nin, men of wonder, or, as Le Clerc
translates, viri portentost. Nor can it
be shewn that, in accordance with
Scripture usage, the two sons of the
prophet were siyus and wonders, merely
because they bore symbolical names.
The terms are always used of persons
or other visible objects, never of ap-
pellations, and cannot, without the
utmost harshness, be otherwise inter-
preted.

That the words are those of the
Messiah may be safely maintained on
the authority of Heb. ii. 13, where
they are quoted precisely in the same
unqualified style in which in the pre-
ceding verse a quotation is made from
the twenty-second Psalm, the whole
of which is strictly and exclusively
prophetical of Christ. The object of
the apostle is not to give prominence
to the latter half of the 18th verse

in Isaiah, but simply to prove a joint
participation in human nature between
the Saviour and those whom he came
to redeem. He therefore stops at
θεός, with the LXX., who divide the
sentence, and introduce the latter
part of it with καὶ ἔσται. The senti-
ment of ver. 17 is precisely that found
in Ps.’ xl. 1,‘ Txix’'33 Isa? ἘΠῚ 3 Ga
which the Messiah expresses his trust
in God, and employs other language
appropriate to his state of humiliation.
Every attempt to relieve the supposed
difficulty in the quotation by having
recourse to the argument ea concessis,
the double sense, or simple accommo-
dation, must fail to afford satisfaction
to persons of inquiring mind, See
Pierce, Macknight, and M’Lean, on
Heb. ii. 13.—The sense in which
Christ and his disciples were to be
signs and wonders is determined by the
inspired construction put upon the
prophecy by Simeon, σημεῖον ἀντιλεγό-
μενον, “a sign to be spoken against.”
Though miraculous in their character,
mission, and operations, and though
they should excite feelings of astonish-
ment in their contemporaries, they
should nevertheless meet with the
most determined opposition. This
view quite accords with the context,
ver. 14, and with fact, Heb. xii. 3;
1 Cor. iv. 9; Acts xiii. 45, xxviii. 22,
The compound proposition Dy, indi-
cates that the character, &c. of Messiah
and his disciples was not formed by
any pre-existent causes, but was the
result of new causes immediately in-
troduced by Divine volition. See
chap. vii. 11; xxix. 6.

19. The prophet returns to his own
times, and warns the nation against
the superstition and imposture to
which they were exposed during the

CHAP.. VIII. |

ISAIAH.

rig

Who chirp and mutter, ask ye:

Should not a people apply to their God ?

Should they apply for the living to the dead ?
20 To the law and to the testimony !

period of calamity before predicted.
In the early history of the Hebrew
people, these evils appear to have
had more or less influence, not-
withstanding the strict prohibitions
of the law, Deut. xviii. 9—12; but
as we proceed in the history they
greatly increase upon us. In the
reign of such an idolatrous king as
Ahaz, their prevalence was particu-
larly to be expected.—01 primarily
signifies to tread, frequent, &c.; with
x, to go, apply to, for assistance, direc-
tion, &e., to consult God, an oracle,
idols, &. Comp. 8 2x, Deut. xviii.
11.—ninx, mas. with a fem. termina-

tion: from 3s, or x, Arab. wil,

reverlitur, to return, come to one’s senses ;
necromancers OY sorcerers, who pretend
to recall the dead from the invisible
world by means of incantations ; and
the spirits themselves thus supposed to be
evoked, as occupying or possessing the
bodies of such conjurers. On this
latter account, such necromancers
were called UN7Mi7Y3, Hix "Wa, i.e. possessed
of the Οὐ, or spirit, called back for
purposes of divination ; and as these
impostors assumed an inflated appear-
ance, that it might be believed they
were filled with the spirit, and gave
forth unaccountable utterances while
in that state, the LXX. render the
word by ἐγγαστρίμυθοι, ventriloquists.

In Coptic O¥ HA, ov, signifies an

Egyptian priest who occupies himself
with divinations; and in Africa and
the West Indies a species of witch-
craft, called Obeah, is practised among
the negroes, which operates power-
fully on their fears, and often issues
in death.—02n, wizards, (from wise,)

comp. the Arab. k, Limon ; ᾿Ελύμας

opayos, Acts xiii. 8, knowing ones; Rabbin.
PIM, πύθωνες, hence πνεῦμα πύθωνος,
a spirit of Python, or divination, Acts
xvi. 16, ‘The term is employed in con-
nexion with nix, to denote persons who
professed to have intercourse with the

world of spirits, and were supposed to
have the power of revealing secrets ;
and, likewise, the spirits with whom it
was thought they communicated. See
Lev. xix. 31, xx. 27; Deut. xviii. 11; 1
Sam xxviii. 3—11.—o»px5u07, lit. the
chirpers, from ΒΞ, which occurs only

in Pilpel, Arab. a.ar0, passer, and

is onomatopoétic, expressing the chirp-
ing or piping of young birds, especially
swallows. Chap. x. 14, xxix. 4, xxxviil.
14. It beautifully expresses the small
distant sounds produced by the necro-
mancers.—O'3797, the mutterers; root
70, to murmur, mutter, utter inarticulate
sounds, to speak in a low, hollow man-
ner, aS if the voice came from the
earth. See chap. xxix. 4.— va is used
here, not in its substitutionary accep-
tation, but as signifying ἐμ behalf of,
720» the benefit of, as Gen. xx. 7; Ps.
Ixxii. 15; Jer. xxi. 2. The interroga-
tive 7 dropping the δ", and the verb,
are to be supplied from the preceding
hemistich. The absurdity of demon-
ology is forcibly pointed out in this
appeal.

20. This verse directs to the only
source whence certain religious infor-
mation is to be obtained, The law and
the testimony ; by which, with reference
to ver. 16, we are obviously to under-
stand, the will of God revealed in his
word. For the use of 2 here, compare
Judg. vii. 18, putz mid. The clause
amo px Wx, has greatly perplexed
interpreters. The LXX., who render
the whole verse oddly, have περὶ οὗ
οὐκ ἔστι δῶρα δοῦναι περὶ αὐτοῦ, in
which they are followed by the Syr.
and other versions derived from them ;
mistaking WW for 118, a gift, or present.
In every other passage in which this
word occurs, it signifies either fhe
aurora, Or morning dawn; or, meta-
phorically, the commencement of a
state of prosperity after a period of
affliction, See espec. chap. xlvii. 11.

i= in the Arab. has the same signi-
fication, which is also that best suited
K

78

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. VIII.

If they speak not according to this word,
There shall be no dawn to them:

21

But they shall pass through the land, distressed and famished ;

And it shall be, when they are famished,
They shall be inwardly vexed, and shall curse
Their king and their God; and shall look upward.

22

They shall also fix their eyes on the earth ;

But behold! affliction and darkness ;
They shall be darkened with distress,

Driven into gloom.

to the following context. The idea
conveyed by the words is this: Those
who teach differently from the Scrip-
tures, and all who listen to such
teachers, shall continue under the
judgment of God: they can expect no
prosperity. Lowth’s rendering, ‘‘in
which is no obscurity,’ cannot be
justified from usage. Joel ii. 2, the
only passage to which he appeals in
support of it, is decidedly against him.
The prophet there drops the idea of
affliction, which he had employed
different appropriate terms to express,
and proceeds to describe the cause of
the affiction—the invading army,
which he compares to the Aurora, or
the rays of light quickly breaking in
upon the horizon, and widely diffusing
themselves upon the mountains.— ex,
which has presented considerable
difficulty, is merely the sign of the
apodosis, then, in that case, and in
translation may be omitted as redun-
dant. See Gesen. Lex. Man. iz voc. Ὁ.
8,.—*) stands collectively for 075, which
is found in one of Kennicott’s MSS.,
and is the rendering of the Vulg.,
“non erit es matutina lux;” or DY,
people, may be understood: either will
account for the sing. which is carried
forward in the following verse.

21, 22. The prophet here describes
in strong language the desperate con-
dition of those who reject the Divine
word and adhere to their own devices,
or to thesinfulinventionsand practices
of men.—i73, 7.e. $83, ἐμ the land, which,
though not occurring in the preceding
context, is understood. This idiom is

not uncommon in Hebrew, see Ps.
Ixviii. 15, Ixxxvii. 1, where the noun
which follows is anticipated, just as
yas is here from ver. 22. Schroeder,
however, takes the 7 in a zeufer sense,
and supposes it to refer to the state
or circumstances of those just spoken
of: but_see Gesenius, Lehrg. p. 740.—
mop, hardly circumstanced, in a state of
great distress.—227n7 In Hithp. is
more expressive than the simple form
of Kal would have been. It denotes
the inward workings of rage before it
is vented against its object.—v7s) 1572
are in apposition: their king, who is
their God; or their king, even their God.
When God as the head of the Theo-
cracy, and the king as his vicegerent,
are spoken of, the order is always,
“God and the king,” 1 Kings xxi. 13;
1 Chron. xxix. 20.—7bya? 72D, They
shall look upward, does not mean
turning to God in the exercise of
confidence, but presenting a sullen
aspect—the genuine expression of an
unsubdued and desperate spirit.—To
whatever quarter the unbelieving Jews
might turn, no indication of deliver-
ance appeared. ΤῚΣ AyD, usually ren-
dered darkness of distress; but since
FAY corresponds in position to M772 in
the following clause, just as 772% does
to Mex, it seems requisite to invest it
with the same participial power, and
render the words thus: covered, or
overwhelmed with trouble. The regular
participial form in Hophal is 729, as
occurring ver. 23, where it agrees with
psy, For ΠῚ} 75x, comp. Jer. xxiii.
12.

CHAP. ὙΠ11.]

ISATAH.

79

CHAPTER VIII. 23.—IX. 6.

Having depicted the wretched condition to which the Jews would be reduced
by the Assyrians, the prophet again anticipates the appearance of Immanuel,
by graphically describing the principal scene of his public ministry, 23;
congratulates the Church on the deliverance which he was to effect, in terms
borrowed from that which had been experienced from the intervening
captivity, and the destruction of Babylon, ix. 1—5; and then introduces, in
the most animated strains, a description of Messiah’s character, and the

happy nature of his reign, 5, 6.

23 Bur darkness shall not remain, where once was distress :
As formerly he rendered contemptible
The land of Zebulon, and the land of Naphtali ;
So he shall afterwards confer honour upon them—

23. In this verse there is a marked
transition from the period of affliction
to the joyful times of the Messiah, now
to be described. In the first clause
the subst. verb is twice understood ;
first in the future tense, with the
superadded idea of continuance; and
then in the preterite. Such ellipses
are common.—» is adversative ; TOx>,
and πῆ, connect with 28 in the pre-
ceding verse. The 7 in 7278 is neither
local, nor a less frequent termination
of γι, but simply paragogic, as Job
xxxiv. 13, xxxvii. 12, and frequently
in poetry. nya stands for nya W232;
and nya 72 would have been supplied
before }77N7, but for the }, which, as
the logical copula, is there equivalent
to it—To make ny? the nomin. to the
verbs ὙΠ and 337, and render, as
Michaelis, Rosenmiller, and Hengsten-
berg do, with the approbation of

Gesenius, As the former time brought, '

&c., into contempt, so shall futurity
honour, &c., is unwarranted by usage.
Day or night is, indeed, freq. employed
as an active subject, but not ny simply,
_ either in Heb. or in any of the dialects.
The verbs may be regarded as imper-
' sonal, and rendered passively ; or ΠῚ
" may be understood, which seems pre-
ferable, as the writers of Scripture
always resolve events into the will or

operations of God.—The regions occu-
pied by the tribes of Zebulon and
Naphtali were, with the exception of
the land of Asher, the most northerly
parts of Canaan, and consequently the
most distant from Jerusalem. Zebulon
stretched across from the Mediterra-
nean Sea at Mount Carmel to the sea
of Tiberias; and Naphtali, from the
northern boundary of Zebulon, be-
tween that Sea and Lebanon.—od™1 777,
the tract of or about the sea. OT com-
monly signifies κατ᾽ ἐξόχην the Medi-
terranean; but it is also used of the
Red Sea, chap. x. 26, the Dead Sea,
chap. xvi. 8, and here obviously of the
sea of Tiberias, called ™:3°0, the sea of
Cinnereth, Num. xxxiv. 11,—j7P7 ὭΣ,
τὸ πέραν τοῦ “lopdavov, Perea, the
country beyond Jordan; more espe-
cially that on the east, and to the
north of the above-mentioned sea.
The attempts of Grotius, Vitringa,
and Hengstenberg, to interpret the
phrase of a cis-Jordanic region, are
unsuccessful, though it cannot be
denied, that in passages such as Josh.
ix. 1, it must signify the west side.—
oad 3, the circle or circuit of the
nutions, from 553, to roll, roll round, be
round, circular, &c.: so called from its
geographical figure, and its proximity
to the Pheenician and other heathen

80

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. IX.

The tract by the sea, the region beyond Jordan,

Galilee of the nations.

CHAPTER IX.

1 The people that walked in darkness,

Behold a great light ;

Upon the inhabitants of the land of death-shade

The light shineth.
2 Thou enlargest the nation,

regions, and partly, perhaps, from the
circumstance that twenty small cities
within its limits were inhabited, for
the most part, by Gentiles. Strabo
mentions Phenicians, Syrians, and Ara-
bians, as dwelling here; and Josephus
adds Greeks. Comp. 1 Kings ix. 11;
Josh. xx. 7, xxi. 32; and see Bloomfield,
on Matt. iv. 15, 16, where, with
scarcely any variation, this and the
following verse are quoted in applica-
tion to our Lord’s ministry in those
parts. In the N. T., Galilee, ἡ Γαλιλαία,
includes all the regions here geogra-
phically described, except Perea.

The points of contrast in this pas-
sage, are the contemptuous light in
which the inhabitants of that part of
the Holy Land had been regarded, on
account of their greater intercourse
with pagans, and the ignorance and
deterioration in a religious point of
view which resulted from it, Matt.
xxvi. 69; John i. 46, vii. 52; and the
high honour conferred upon them by
our Saviour’s commencing his minis-
try among them, and making their
country the scene of the most illus-
trious displays of his Messiahship.
Comp. for the sentiment, Mic. v. 2,(Heb.
1,)and for the expectation of the earlier
Rabbins, the book Zohar, part i. fol.
119. Amst. 527 ΠΡῚΝ NWO NID “IM,
Messiah the King shall be revealed in the
land of Galilee. The transition was
easy from a description of temporal to
that of spiritual degradation and
misery; especially as the image of
darkness, which the prophet had just
been employing, is in Scripture fre-
quently used of both. That he should
‘precisely have selected Zebulon and

Naphtali on this occasion, may be ac-
counted for, on the ground that these
tribes were the first that suffered
from the invasion of the Assyrians,
2 Kings xv. 29.

Cuapter 1X.—1. 029, that walked ;
727 signifies tropically, fo live, or have
one’s conversation. Comp. Eph. i. 2;
1 John i. 6.—*s, Light, the Messiah as
the Sun of righteousness. Mal. iv. 2;
Is. xlix. 6; τὸ φῶς, τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινὸν,
John i. 5, 9, τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου, Vili. 12,
the author not only of true knowledge,
but of the true and permanent happi-
ness connected with it.—ny22z, Geier,
De Dieu, Michaelis and some others,
take to be simply a derivative from

nos, Arab.

but it seems preferable, with the
ancient versions, to regard it as com-
pounded of 58, @ shadow, and nyo,
death, like MYNEN, the court of death,
Gen. x. 26, nwo, strength of death, 2
Sam. xxiii. 31. It is employed to
denote the densest gloom, or the most
awful darkness—ideas which are very
naturally associated with that of
death, independently of those which
the region of sepulchral cells might
suggest. See Job iii. 4, 5, x. 21, 22;
Ps. xxiii. 4. Hitzig thinks there may
have been some place so called, in the
valley Achor, Hos. ii. 15 (Heb. 17) ;
but this is mere conjecture.

2. Instead of the Chethib δ, of,
which has the support of Aquila,
Theod., Symm., the Vulg., and in
all probability the LXX. originally:
the ov κατήγαγες having easily been
changed into ὁ κατήγαγες ; see Middel-

2, to be dark, shady, &e.;

—

CHAP. IX.]|

ISATAH.

Whose joy thou didst not increase ;
They rejoice before thee as with the joy of harvest,
As men rejoice when dividing the spoil.

3 For the yoke of their burden,

And the staff of their shoulder,

The rod of their oppressor,

Thou hast broken, as in the day of Midian.
4 For every sandal of the sandalled in battle,

And the garment rolled in blood,

Shall be burned ; it shall be food for the fire.

dorpf’s Codex Syriaco-Hexap. p. 474;
, to it, the Keri, is found in thirteen
MSS., was originally in four more, and
perhaps in three, and is the reading
followed in the Syr., the Targ., and
Saadias. The word is wanting alto-
gether in three MSS. Both readings
being pronounced alike may have
occasioned the difference; but the
Chethib being the more difficult of
the two, and being so respectably
supported, is entitled to the preference.
Considering ™72vT as standing for
int, and rendering 4727 in the past
indefinite time, the whole may conyve-
niently be translated, Thou hast en-
larged the nation; its, or rather, whose
joy thou didst not increase: (but now)
they rejoice, &c.; reflecting on the joy-
less period which immediately pre-
ceded the coming of the Messiah, and
contrasting it with that here predicted.
There is properly a /ifotes in the lan-
guage: the meaning being, whose joy
thou didst take away—The 3 in ὙΞΒΞ
Lowth rejects, on the ground of the
preceding noun being in construction ;
but this form frequently occurs. See
2 Sam. i. 21; Ps. ii. 12, ix. 10; Isaiah
v. 11, xxi. 138.—In 22», before thee, 7
is understood, as it likewise is in the
second person of the verbs.

3. The subject to which the prono-
minal affixes belong is "30, the nation
mentioned in the preceding verse.
Yad is the burden laid upon it, and 722
3020, the rod applied to its shoulder or
back, in the way of punishment. The
Dagesh in 3 is euphonic.—p72 DY, ¢he
day of Midian, comp. chap. x. 26; a
mode of speech by which the Orientals
express a battle fought at any place.

φ

Thus the Arab. yy 65» prelium Bed-

rense 3 | gis eo» Dies prelii
Thaghlebitarum. Freytag. The refer-
ence is to Judges vii. 19—23; and the
comparison is the more apt, as the
victory there described took place in
the regions specified at the beginning
of the present chapter. The grand
point of comparison, however, consists
in thedeliverance having beeneffected,
not by human means, but by the im-
mediate interposition of Divine power.

.Such was the nature of the redemp-

tion to be effected by Immanuel.
The language of the verse is figurative,
and applies to the victory of the
Messiah over Satan, and the rescue of
his people from spiritual oppression.
See Rosenmiller and Hengstenberg,
in loc.

4. This verse describes the sure in-
dications of a state of lasting peace,
in language borrowed from an ancient
custom of burning implements of war
that had been taken from the enemy.
This custom is distinctly recognised,
Ps. xlvi. 9 ; Micah v. 10; Ezek. xxxix.
8—10 ; in the last of which passages
the image is beautifully amplified. By
PRO is meant the military shoe or sandal,
strongly shod with nails or spikes,
and reaching about mid-leg. It thus
differed from the greave, which came

vy
higher up. Comp. aaj, Be ye shod,
in the Peshito, Eph. vi.15 ; the Chald.

xvD, and the Eth. AULA'S, shoe.—

JNO is the participle, formed from the
Same noun. wv} signifies baffle, from

82

ISAIAH.

[CHAP.. IX.

5 For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given;
And the government shall be upon his shoulder ;

And his name shall be called,

WoNDERFUL, COUNSELLOR,

Micutry Gop, Farner or Erernity, Prince or PEACE.
6 Of the increase of his government and its peace, there shall be

no end,

the noise and tumult connected with it;
and nv is appropriated to denote
the sagum or cloak worn by soldiers in
war. Both it, however, and the san-
dal are here employed synecdochically
for all kinds of military accoutrements.
The ) in 77 marks the apodosis.
The interpretation here given of }ixo,
&c. was first suggested by Joseph
Kimchi, and is now generally ap-
proved.

5, 6. Of the exclusive application of
this prophecy to the Messiah, no doubt
was entertained by the earlier Rabbins.
The Targum renders it: }2 720 "pM
nrpuin Nysme?) DP NID NTN Tey HO DTP,
“ara NwY wD NOR, “And his name
was called of old, Wonderful, Counsel,
the Mighty God, He who continueth for
ever, The Messiah, in whose days peace
shall be multiplied upon us.” Similar
applications are made in the Bere-
shith Rabba on Gen. xli. 44, in the
Echa Rabbitha on Lamentations ; and
Ben Sira includes, “Wonderful, Coun-
sellor, Mighty God, and Prince of
Peace,” in his list of the eight names
of the Messiah. The modern foreign
writers who have adopted or defended
this interpretation, are Cube, Dathe,
Michaelis, Doderlein, Koppe, Plischke,
Kuinoel, Herder, Duchman, V. D. Palm,
Rosenmiiller, Umbreit, and Hengsten-
berg. On the other hand, Hezel,
Hensler, Paulus, Hendewerk, and even
Jahn, after Kimchi, Jarchi, Abenezra,
and Grotius, refer the passage to
Hezekiah ; which interpretation Gese-
nius attempts to sustain in his Com-
ment., though he is obliged to confess,
that “it may still be considered Mes-
sianic, inasmuch as the description is
ideal, and may or may not be applied
to any real subject ;” and in his Lex.
Man. he renders 8%, 2. Coner. admira-
bilis, evimius, (de rege Messize,) Is. ix. 6.
Hitzig views the passage as an ex-
aggerated description of some future
king of the house of David; which,

in the main, is the opinion adopted
by Bauer, Eichhorn, and Vogel.

The assertion of Gesenius, that the
words are not applied to our Lord in
the N. T. (an objection which we
should not have expected from such
a quarter) is contrary to fact; for
though they are not expressly or ver-
bally quoted, it is evident the angel
Gabriel thus applies them in his an-
nunciation to Mary, Luke i. 32, 33.
First, her child was to be “ the Son of
the Highest,” in reference to that part
of the prophecy, “To us ὦ Son is
given.” Secondly, he was to be “great,”
which the assemblage of exalted and
distinguished names in the prediction
sufficiently indicates. Thirdly, he was
to have given to him “the throne of .
his father David,’ which corresponds
to “his government upon the throne
of David” in the prophecy ; and his
“reigning over the house of Jacob,’
to his being “over the kingdom of
David” in the following clause.
Fourthly, the words, “Of his king-
dom there shall be no end,” are almost
a literal quotation of the words, “ Of
the increase of his government—
there shall be no end.”

That neither Hezekiah, norany other
temporal king of the Jews after his
time, can be possibly intended, appears
from the fact, that none of them ever
did or could exert a beneficial influence ©
over Galilee, since it lay entirely be- |
yond their jurisdiction ; and also from
the peculiar terms of the description,
which admit of no appropriate inter-
pretation except they be applied toa
Divine Person. ‘ Nobis,” says Rosen-
miiller, “omnino haud est credibile,
vatem ullum Hebreum de solito aliquo
sue gentis rege spes adeo magnificas,
quales hic expressas legimus, concipere
potuisse.” Schol. Edit. 1835. And
Schroeder in MS.: “de solo Messi
hune locum accipiendum esse, ex in-
signibus titulis atque divinis honori-

CHAP. IX.]

ISAIAH.

83

Upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom ;
To establish it, and strengthen it, with justice and equity,

bus, qui ipsi dantur tam evidens est,
ut in dubium vocari non _possit.”
Still stronger is the language of Chry-
sostom, tom. i. p. 560: ὅτι δὲ περὶ dv-
θρώπου, οὐκ ἄν τις εἴποι τοῦτο ψιλοῦ,
εὔδηλον, καὶ τοῖς σφόδρα φιλονικεῖν
ἐθέλουσι: θεὸς γὰρ ἰσχυρὸς οὐδεὶς ἀν-
θρώπων ἐλέχθη ἀπὸ τοῦ αἰῶνος, οὐδὲ
ἄρχων εἰρήνης τοιαύτης" τῆς γὰρ εἰρήνης
αὐτοῦ, φῆσιν, οὐκ ἔστιν ὅριον.
ἈΠ) 72 wT Wwe. The concinnity
and emphasis of these words evince
the high state of exultation to which
the mind of the prophet was raised,
when he delivered them. The verbs
are put in the preterite, to indicate
the certainty of the event which they
predict. ὋΣ is used per κοίνωσιν.---
jody MIwAT IA. The former of these
nouns is derived from 7, an obsolete
verb, equivalent to WY and WW, like
_ ΠΌΤ. from 9); and signifies absolute
vule, dominion, empire. It occurs
only here and ver. 6. The resting of
this empire upon the shoulder of the
prince, indicates the weight of public
affairs which he would have to sustain.
Comp. Plin. Panegyr. ὁ. 10; Cicero,
Orat. pro Flacco, § 95. For the cus-
tom of placing the badge of office on
the shoulder, see xxii. 22.

xq? is to be taken impersonally, but
is best rendered passively. The later
Jews, in order to get rid of the Chris-
tian interpretation of the verse, main-
tain that all the names, as far as
ἼΣΩΝ, form the nominative, and that
Οὐχ Ww alone is the object to the verb;

but such an accumulation of names
forming a nominative is without ex-
ample, and in Hebrew usage, the
name given uniformly follows im-
mediately after 2¥, and not that of
the person who gives it.—N, lit. ὦ
wonder, miracle, from 2, to separate,
distinguish by some remarkable quali-
ties ; that which, from its not com-
ing within the compass of natural
events, is the cause of wonder and ad-
miration. The abstract is used for the
concrete: Wonderful, worthy of ad-
miration. Thus Aquila, θαυμαστός ;

[2 »
Symm., παραδοξασμός; the Syr. | 0002,

admiratio; Jerome, admirabilis. ty
825, effecting miracles, is one of the
peculiar characteristics of Jehovah,
Exod. xv. 11; and nix: the Niphal
part. is freq. used of the miracles that
were wrought in behalf of the He-
brews. As the Uncreated Angel, the
same glorious person here predicted,
appropriates the title to himself, Jud.
xiii. 18, where, though the Keri reads
%e, the Chethib is ‘B.—yyY, Coun-
sellor; Aquila, σύμβουλος; Symm.
βουλευτικός ; Theod. βουλεύων. Some
wouid join this and the preceding title
together, and render, Wonderful Coun-
sellor, on the specious ground, that all
the other titles are in pairs; but what-
ever uniformity in point of construc-
tion might thus be introduced into
the passage, it is completely at vari-
ance with Hebrew construction. To
admit of this rendering, the form
must be 7EY 82, and not yyy x. For
the import of this title, comp. chap.
xa. 9. John. ds: Matt. τὶ 27) ine
111. 18.—)32 Ox, The Mighty God. The
occurrence of these words in conjunc-
tion, chap. x. 21, in application to
Jehovah as revealed in the person of
the Messiah, irrefragably proves that
they are so to be combined in the pre-
sent instance ; as also, that 98 is to be
taken in its usual acceptation, as one
of the Divine names, and not in that
of Hero, which Gesenius assigns to it.
Hitzig defends the rendering, starher
Gott, “Mighty God ;” and thus the
Targ. Syr., Jerome, Ignat. in Epist.ad
Antioch., Tren. adv. Heres. lib. iv.
cap. 66; Euseb. in Demon. Evang.
libb. vii. and ix.; Clemens, Peedag. lib.
i.; Severian. in Combes. Auctar. Non.
P.P.tom.i. Comp. Deut. x. 17; Jer.
xxxii. 18. 58 never occurs as an ad-
jective. Theodoret, animadverting
upon the translation of Aquila, ἰσχυ-
pos δυνατός, observes: κεῖται δὲ παρὰ
τὸ Ἕβρ. ἢλ γεββώρ᾽ τὸ δὲ HA, θεός ;
“ But in the Hebrew it is Μὲ gibbor:
now Hi signifies God.” The combina-
tion, aa by γον, the Consulter of the
Mighty God, as Grotius renders it ; or
the Counsellor of God, Mighty, proposed
by Dr. L. Carpenter; no Hebrew

84

Henceforth and for ever :--

scholar can, for a moment, admit.—
wos, lit. the Father of perpetuity,
eternity, from the root 1, fo advance,
go forward, endure, Gesenius translates,
pater sempiternus, which agrees with
our common version, and most modern
translations, and ascribes the attri-
bute of eternity to the Messiah. Yet,
as TY is specially used to denote future
duration, the LXX. seem to have hit
the true meaning when they render,
as in the Ald. and Complut. editions :
Πατὴρ τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος, Father of
the future age; Only the age is not to
be restricted to the present dispensa-
tion, but is to be extended to the state
of eternal blessedness after death.
ax signifies not only father, but also
author, provider, benefactor, Gen. iv. 21 ;
Job xxix. 16; Ps. Ixvili. 6; and
especially, Is. xxii. 21, and Gen. xlv.
8, where Joseph is said to have been
made @ father to Pharaoh,—not his
Vizier or prime minister as Gesenius
explains it, but ἃ provider, with special
reference to the famine. Comp. also
2 Cor.i.3; Jamesi.17. The Turkish,

ELL, Atabeh, to which the same

author refers in illustration, is not ap-
plied to the Vizier in the sense of
Sather of the prince, but is simply a
title of respect, Dominus Pater, and is
given both to ministers and to the
prince himself. The corresponding

Arabic, yl, is in use among the

Diyabi Bedoweens of Oman. Well-
sted, in his travels among them, men-
tions that each of the seven divisions
of that peculiar people is governed
by a chief called Ad, who exercises
what may be termed a patriarchal
authority over them. This office is
filled by individuals whose superior
Sagacity, experience, and courage, en-
title them to the distinction. The
Messiah may appropriately be styled,
The father of the future eternal state, in-
asmuch as he is the author and
bestower of its blessings ; and in this
point of view, W728 exactly corres-
ponds to αἴτιος σωτηρίας αἰωνίου, Heb.
v. 9. The rendering, Futher of prey,
proposed by Abarbanel, and adopted
by Lgen and Hitzig, is quite out of

ISATAH.

[CHAP. IX.

place here ; though it cannot be de-
nied, that Ἣν is also used to denote
prey. Dwr, Zhe Prince of Peace
answers to 1%, Shiloh, The Pacificator,
Gen. xlix. 10; οὐ» Zhe Peace, Micah
v. 4. Comp. Eph. ii. 14, 17: Col. i.
20.

The state of the LXX. text in this
place is so unsettled, that little use
can be made of it for the purpose of
throwing light upon the terms em-
ployed. See Stroth’s Beytrige zur
Kritik der LXX. in Eichhorn’s Reper-
torium, part 111. p.252. It is exhibited
at greater length in the Alex. and
Ald. copies, than in that of the Vat. ;
but all three have the remarkable
rendering, μεγάλης βουλῆς ἄγγελος, The
Angel of the great Counsel, which they
are supposed to have found in the
words > yy? X%—taking ἢ in the ac-
ceptation of azgel, which they have
certainly done Job xx. 15. Whether
they had in view 7 32x92, The Angel of
Jehovah, of celebrated occurrence, can-
not be determined.

73709 (7372). That Christian editors
of the Hebrew Bible should still con-
form to the Masoretic absurdity of
exhibiting a final Mem at the begin-
ning of a word, is passing strange ; as
it must likewise be considered, that
any interpreters should imitate the
Rabbins in attempting to find mys-
teries in it. The only edition in
which I have seen it corrected is that
of Hahn, Lips. 1834, 12mo., which
contains other emendations of a simi-
lar kind. There is no ground for sup-
posing that the text originally read
mm 02, the former of these words
standing for 07?—though this division
is actually found in two or three MSS.
In what sense the Messiah occupies
the throne of David, see Dan. ii. 44 ;
vii. 14, 27; Luke 1. 31—33; Acts ii,
34—36 ; Rom. xiv.9; 1 Cor. xv. 24—
28; Heb. xii. 27, 28; and those pas-
sages of the N.T. in which the dis-
pensation of the Messiah is designated
7 βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ, τῶν οὐρανῶν, το.
His reign is not earthly and temporal,
but spiritual and eternal.—This illus-
trious prophecy beautifully concludes
with the words, ΓΝ Tim ΠΡ}
ΠΤ ΤΟΣ, with respect to which itisonly

=r

ISAIAH.
The zeal of Jehovah of Hosts shall effect this.

CHAP, IX.] 85

necessary to remark, that 7p, zeal, is evinced by vigilant attention and in-
here used in the acceptation of strong defatigable effort in regard to it,
affection, or ardent love for an object, Song vili. 6; Zech, viii. 2.

CHAPTER IX. 7—X. 4.

This section is clearly distinguishable from those which precede and follow it,
by the peculiar features of the composition, and the subject-matter which
it contains, The 7th verse forms the title or introduction: then follow
four regular stanzas, to each of which is added a distich, consisting of
a refrain, or repetition of the same words. The prophecy is directed against
the kingdom or people of Israel, and threatens them with Divine judgments
in punishment of their pride, 7—12; their obstinate rebellion against the
Lord, 13—16 ; their flagrant wickedness, 17—20 ; and their perversion of

justice, x, 1—4,

7 JEHOVAH sent a word against Jacob,
And it came down against Israel ;
8 And all the people shall know it—
Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria—
Who say in pride and arrogance of heart :
9 The bricks have fallen, but we will build with hewn stones ;
The sycamores are cut down, but we will substitute cedars.

7. Asynonymous parallelism. For
‘yx, thirty-three of Kennicott’s MSS.
and three of the earliest printed edi-
tions, read T17,—3, fo come down, in the
sense in which %3 52 is used Dan. iv. 28,

and ων 31, in the Koran, to in-

dicate the communication of oracular
matter, or revelations from heaven.
Jacob and Israel are identical, designat-
ing the kingdom of the ten tribes.

8. Ὁ signifies here ¢o feel, know from
suffering experimentally, as Num. xiv.
34; ‘nsanny OMYT), Ye shall know, 1. e.
feel my opposition, the hostility which
you have provoked ; very improperly
rendered in the common version,
“My breach of promise.” See also
Job xxi. 19; Hos. ix. 7. “Ephraim
and the inhabitants of Samaria” is
-added by way of explanation to 59 oya,

to exclude the idea of Judah from
being involved in the threatening. The
Yin 18%) is emphatic: “ and especially
the inhabitants of the metropolis.”

9. The 0°22) were bricks made of a
white, or chalky clay, (122, to be white,)
and dried in the sun, but not burnt.
To give them coherence they were
mixed with straw, Exod. v. 7, but
they possessed little durability. Such
bricks were in common use, as they
are at this day, all over the East.
When edifices of large dimensions
were to be built, the bricks were
burnt, Gen. xi. 3.—™2 for ™2 228,
hewn stones, from ™3 to cut, form by hew-
ing. The term is specially used of
large stones made square by hewing,
1 Kings v. 31.—op7d, LXX. συκάμι-
vous, sycamores, a kind of fig-tree,
resembling in its leaves and fruit the

L

80

ISATAH.

[CHAP. IX.

10 Therefore Jehovah will raise up the hostile bands of Rezin

against them,

And will equip their enemies ;

11 Syria on the east, and the Philistines on the west ;
And they shall devour Israel with open mouth.
For all this his anger is not turned away,
But his hand is stretched out still.
12 For the people have not returned to him who smote them ;
And Jehovah of Hosts they have not sought.
13 Therefore Jehovah will cut off from Israel,
The head and the tail, the branch and the rush,

mulberry-tree, and called by Pliny
jicus Aigyptia, from its being frequent
in that country. It also abounded,
and still abounds in the level parts of
Palestine. It is durable, but slender,
and coarse in the grain, and is used by
the inhabitants for ordinary purposes.
i Kings x. 27; 1 Chron. xxvii. 28);
Amos vii. 14.—o"ny, cedars. See note
on chap. ii. 13. While the sycamore
was of little worth, the cedar was
held in the highest estimation, and is
the most celebrated of all the trees
mentioned in Scripture. The impeni-
tent Ephraimites treat with contempt
the results of Tiglath-pileser’s inva-
sion, and boast that they will speedily
place their affairs in a far more pro-
sperous condition than before.

10, 11. 23%, used here instead of
oy, (see Micah v. 4;) only the idea
of superiority in prowess is expressed
by the former term. Instead of "8
TS), the enemies of Rezin, thirteen MSS.,
originally seventeen more, now three,
and the Keri of one of De Rossi’s,
read Y2) ‘Ww, the princes of Rezin;
whichisadopted by Houbigant, Lowth,
Déderlein, Dathe, and Hensler. Mi-
chaelis, following the LXX., rods ἐπα-
νισταμένους ἐπὶ ὄρος Σιὼν, conjectures
72% to have been the original reading,
and renders, die Widersacher des Berges
Zion, “the adversaries of Mount Zion,”
but he is quite uncertain respecting
the application of the words. There
is, however, no real difficulty in the
common reading, which is corrobo-
rated by ΣΝ in the second member of
the parallelism. By the enemies of
Rezin the Assyrians are meant, by

‘engage

whom, under Tiglath-Pileser, Rezin
was slain, his capital taken, and the
population and that of a portion of
Israel carried away into Media. These
were to come a second time against
Israel; and to aggravate the evil, both
the Arameans and the Philistines
would, under the conqueror, rush into
the country, and pillage it at pleasure.
This took place when Shalmaneser
reduced the kingdom of Israel to an
Assyrian province, about the year B.c.
730 or 720.—J20, the Pilpel of 729,
to interweave, fence, cover, or furnish with
armour, With an original reference to
the large shields, which often consisted
of osiers intertwined, and covered with

bull’s hide, Comp. the Arab. sls,
spinis munivit parietem ; ἀκ, ὦ, δρίμα;

hence arma eorumve acumen.—%X,
freq. used of the consumption effected
by war; hence 727%, war, from the
synonymous root 01), fo eat, devour,—
D0, the Niphal of which signifies to
in battle. Comp. πολέμοιο
μέγα στόμα. Iliad. x. 8.

12. 2 is more commonly followed
by > and ὅν, but it is also in other
passages construed with 7¥, chap. xix.
22; Amos iv. 6. In 17397 the refer-
ence is to Jehovah as the inflicter of
the punishment.

13. περ, the palm-branch; from its
curved, hand-like shape; but employed
here on account of its elevated position
on the tree, which is itself one of the
most beautiful in the vegetable king-
dom.—jiaxx, the reed or rush, whieh
grows in low marshy tracts, and

°

CHAP. IX.]

In a single day.

ISAIAH.

87

14 The elder, even the honourable, he is the head ;
And the prophet, the teacher of falsehood, he is the tail.
15 For the leaders of this people cause them to err ;
And those who are led by them are destroyed.
16 Wherefore the Lord shall not rejoice over their young men,
Nor will he pity their orphans and widows ;
For every one of them is profane and wicked,
And every mouth speaketh folly.
For all this his anger is not turned away,
But his hand is stretched out still:
17 For wickedness burneth like fire,

attains to the height of eight or ten
feet. The different terms here em-
ployed are appropriate images of
persons in high and inferior stations
of life. Thus the LXX. μέγαν καὶ
μικρόν. Eleven MSS., and originally
three more, prefix 3 to OY, as chap. x.
17, where, likewise, the phrase denotes
quickly, within the shortest period.

14. This verse Koppe, Cube, Eich-
horn, Gesenius, and Hitzig, maintain
to be a gloss; principally on the
ground, that the contrast so strikingly
made in the preceding verse is not
kept up in the exegesis here given.
But it is obvious from ver. 15, that it
was specially the design of Isaiah to
degrade and expose the false prophets,
which he could not have done more
effectually than by comparing them
to the tail; thus assigning to them
the most contemptible position in
society. The verse is, therefore, quite
in its place, as Hendewerk has ably
shewn. Comp. for the other terms,
chap. iii. 2, 3.

15. Comp. chap. iii. 12. By oqvx0
are meant the lying teachers men-
tioned in the preceding verse.— 23, in
Kal, to swallow, devour eagerly; in Piel,
to destroy, exterminate.

16. onm3, the delectus, young, choice
warriors, from 3, fo choose, select the
best of any thing. Comp. chap. xxxi.
8, Jer. xviii. 21; and Ps. cx. 3, where
nny, youth, likewise signifies youthful
warriors.—*, on impious, Or profane

person; Syr. 3.1.» one who is morally
impure, ὦ heathen; Eth. f€4qQ.: a

heretic. The word has generally been
rendered fypocrite, but apparently
without foundation in the Hebrew, or
any other of the dialects. It denotes
an atrocious, unprincipled character,
one who is uninfluenced by regard
either to God or man. See Job viii.
13, xiii. 16, xvii. 8.—YY2, see chap. 1. 4.

17. AY) signifies in this place, not
wickedness in general, but idolatry,
the fruitful parent of all manner of
evil. Comp. Zech. v. 8: Tyt 7 NN,
This is wickedness, i.e. idolatry, which
was removed from the land of Israel
at the captivity, and set down in
Babylon, its own appropriate place,
vers. 9—11. Its prevalence is com-
pared to a raging fire, which spreads
devastation wherever it comes, espe-
cially in a forest; and those who in-
dulge in it are compared to briers and
thorns, which are easily ignited and
speedily consumed. This image is
frequently used in the Hebrew Scrip-
tures. See Ps. lviii. 10, cxviii. 12;
Isa. x. 16, 17, xxxiii. 12; Micah vii.
4; Nah. i. 10.--᾿ὴῖν Mx WANN, And
they roll upward in a column of smoke.
The verb. 728 is a ἅπαξ λεγ., but is
obviously related to pix, whirling dust ;

Arab. (jl, JE%, Arab. EAS), to turns

in Hith. fo turn oneself about; and
expresses the winding or revolving
action of a body of smoke rising into
the air. Some compare the Arab.

SI, carnosus fuit, and the Syr.

ov
las} > gallus gallinaceus, superbo gradu

88

ISATAH.

[CHAP. X.

It consumeth the thorns and briers ;
And it kindleth the thickets of the forest,
And they roll upward—a column of smoke.

18

By the wrath of Jehovah of Hosts the land is burned up,

And the people are as food for the fire ;
They have no pity for each other.

19

And one cutteth down on the right, yet starveth ;

And eateth on the left, but is not satisfied ;
They each devour the flesh of his arm:

20

Manasseh, Ephraim, and Ephraim, Manasseh ;

And these together are against Judah!
For all this his anger is not turned away,
But his hand is stretched out still.

CHAPTER X.

1 Wo to the enactors of iniquitous statutes,

incedens, and, after Castel., render the
word superbient, fastuose se gerent—
referring the comparison to the szell-
iny of the volumes of smoke; but the
former etymology is preferable, and

has the support of the Syr. casogsda :
and the Vulg. convolvetur. ΤΌΝΔ is used
adverbially to denote the proud direc-
tion of the smoke as thus rolling itself
upwards. Hendewerk thinks there
is purposely an omission of the Cuph
veritatis before this substantive.

18. The flames are now described
as extending from the forest to the
whole country ; only instead of being
further represented as resulting from
wickedness, the conflagration is re-
solved into the anger of God as the
avenger of sin. The idea of civil dis-
cord and mutual destruction was also
naturally suggested by that of fire,
which consumes on every hand.—ony
occurs only here, but appears from
the connexion, and from its affinity

with the Arab. εἰς » to be darkened,

ἃς, estus ingens et suffocans, suffocating

heat, to have the signification of durn-
ing, burning up, burning so as to leave
the ground completely black ; LXX.

συγκέκαυται; Alex, συγκαυθήσεται ;

Targ. m2, adusta est. YX being of
common gender, occasions no diffi-
culty in construing it with the mas,
of the verb.

19. 12, Arab. =, ¢o hill, cut up,

dissect, prepare for food. Secker’s con-
jecture, which Lowth adopts, that we
are to read 1X, his companion, instead
of Dt, his arm, appears, at first sight,
to derive support from the parallel
passage, Jer. xix. 9; but as yim is
used tropically to denote strength, aid,
&c., there is no occasion to alter the
text. The word is here used, like the

Arab, jae ; brachium, adjutor, socius,

one who employs his arm in behalf of
another, a helper, friend, ὅθ. Comp.
Ps. Ixxxiii. 9; Is. xxxiii,2; Jer. xvii.
5. The following verse clearly shews
that this is the meaning. It was
natural for those who were related to
each other, to render mutual assist-
ance ; but in civil broils, every tie of
the kind is disregarded, and those
who are most closely connected often
become the greatest foes.

20. An epexegesis of the preced-
ing, in which the figurative language
is literally explained,

CHAPTER X.—1, Before ov, subaud.
WR,

ὃ

CHAP. Χ.]

ISAIAH.

89

And the writers who register evil :

To turn away the poor from judgment,

And deprive of their right the afflicted of my people ;
That the widows may be their prey,
And that they may plunder the orphans.

3 And what will ye do in the day of visitation,
And of desolation which cometh from afar ?
To whom will ye flee for help ?

And where will ye leave your nobility ?

4 Except they crouch among the prisoners,
They shall fall among the slain.

For all this his anger is not turned away,
But his hand is stretched out still.

2. pr. eT differs in signification,
as in form, from bb022 737, and 77
ved. The latter phrases signify to
pervert justice, to give a wrong ver-
dict ; the former means (/o turn away
@ cause, 80 as to prevent its being
brought to trial—%3 conveys the
idea of taking away by fraud and
violence.—At the close of the verse,
the verb assumes the finite form.

3. DY, day, is understood as repeated
before 781M; and 72x is to be supplied
before pv; which term refers to
the Assyrians, who, though distant,
are spoken of as already on their
march.—72. LXX. ἐπισκοπή, in this
and several other passages, but also
ἐπίσκεψις, ἐκδίκησις. The root signi-
fies, in such connexion, to come to
any one in a hostile sense, to visit so
as to punish. Comp. Job xxxi. 14;
Jer, xxiii. 12; and the Greek, 1 Pet.
ii. 12. 722 is to be taken here, as
chap. v. 13, viii. 7, in the sense of
nobility. It was to be expected that
they might safely be left in their castles
and fastnesses ; but the prophet de-
clares that they should form no ex-
ception, but be treated like the rest
of the nation. Hendewerk is of
opinion, that zdols, the boast and
glory of the apostate Israelites, are
meant.

4. The Rabbins, Moses, and Kimchi,
Abendanus, Noldius, Tremellius, Vi-

tringa, Lowth, Gesenius in his Lex.
Man., and others, regard the Yod in
ὙΠ as the pronominal suffix, and ren-
der, without me, in the sense of, aban-
doned by me, and consider Jehovah to
be the speaker ; but, though the word
is unquestionably thus used Hos. xiii.
4, such an interpretation ill suits the
present connexion. It is rather to be
taken in the acceptation of ewcept, 7
not, as Gen, xliii, 3, and with D8 added,

Amos, iii. 4, Thus the Syr. 3», and

Schmid. who supplies x. Being pro-
perly the noun 023, signifying aznihi-
lation, from 193, to consume, bring or
come to nothing, it is simply a nega-
tive particle with the Yod paragogic,
The nobles must either crouch among
the prisoners, under the chains with
which they are to be loaded, or they
must share the fate of the slain—
nom occurs nowhere else in the sense
of among; yet it seems to be purposely
adopted here instead of 3 or 73, to in-
dicate the low or prostrate condition
of the persons described. It may,
however, be rendered, iz the place of
the prisoners; 7. e. where they are.
Thus Kimchi, 01701; though Abenezra
prefers ~3.—22, though singular, agree-
ing with 733, ver. 3, is to be rendered
in the plural, in accordance with =
following. Such enallage is common
in Hebrew poetry.

90

ISATAH.

[CHAP. X:

CHAPTER X. 5—34.

The remainder of this chapter contains a prophecy respecting the invasion of
Juda by Sennacherib, and the destruction of his army. The purpose of
God in sending him against the Jews is distinctly stated, 5,6; his proud
boastings in reference to his conquests, and his intentions against Jerusalem
are described, 6—11,; the Divine punishment to be inflicted upon him and
his army, when they had finished their work, is denounced, 12—19 ; pro-
mises of mercy are made to the small remnant of the Jews, 20—23 ; and
they are assured of the signal interposition of God on their behalf, 24—27 ;
the rapid approach of the Assyrian army to Jerusalem, and the consterna-
tion of the neighbouring cities are then admirably depicted, 28—32; and
the section closes with an abrupt description of its entire discomfiture,

From ver. 11, it would appear that this prophecy was delivered subsequent to
the capture of Samaria, which took place in the sixth year of Hezekiah, but
earlier than the fourteenth year, in the course of which the threatened

invasion happened.

5 Wo to the Assyrian! the rod of mine anger!
The staff in whose hand is that of my wrath.
6 Against an impious nation I will send him,
And against the people of my indignation will I give him a

charge ;

To seize the spoil; and to take the prey ;
And to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

5. Wx, to correspond with 073 fol-
lowing, must here be regarded as
denoting the Assyrians ; but as the
king of Assyria is introduced imme-
diately after, it is better to render it
in the singular. Instead of xm,
eight MSS., another at first hand, and
one in the margin, read 778; but the
reading seems to have originated in
an attempt to get over the difficulty
occasioned by 8, which after all is
only the usual substitute for the sub-
stantive verb. Hitzig violently ex-
scinds D073, and Secker proposes to
read DY instead of it. The sentence
is elliptical ; requiring Wx to be sup-
plied after 87, and 7 to be repeated
before Ὅν, It will then literally read
thus: And the rod which is in their
hand is the rod of my indignation, The
Assyrians are first represented as the

instrument of Divine punishment,
and then as themselves employing
their military weapons in inflicting it,

6. For 27, see note on chap. ix. 16,
The people against which he was to
be sent was that of Judah. They
were now to experience the evils
which they had seen inflicted upon
others, without taking warning. Ge-
senius, Hitzig, and others, suppose
Ephraim to be meant ; but the refe-
rence to the taking of Samaria, vers.
9, 10, 11, is decidedly opposed to this
view of the subject. ‘uy ov is the
genitive of object ; the people on whom
my wrath is to be inflicted —ODo Ὁ inv»,
according to the Keri: lit. fo place it
a treading: i.e.to tread them, or cause
them to be trodden upon. The usual
term for mire, in such connexion, is
not 9, but 797, which properly signi-

CHAP. X.]

ISATAH.

91

7 But as for him, he thinketh not so,
Neither doth his heart so intend ;

But to destroy is in his heart,

And to cut off nations not a few.
8 For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings?

Is not Calno as Carchemish ?
Is not Hamath as Arpad?
Is not Samaria as Damascus ?

fies clay, and is also thus employed,
Job xxx. 19.

7. 3 for D8 33, but, on the contrary.
ur 2, not a few, a litotes for many.

~ ¥ ~ v
Thus the Syr. Hee |SeS88, many
people.

8. The Assyrian monarch is here,
with great effect, introduced as boast-
ing of the number of his conquests ;
asserting, that there were not any of
his princes who had not had the regal
dignity conferred upon them. Of
course, by 0220 we are to understand,
not absolute sovereigns, but satraps or
viceroys, each having his separate
kingdom or province, which he go-
verned, subject to the supreme ruler,
who, in reference to his dominion over
them, is styled 0°22 722, Ling of kings,
Ezek. xxvi. 7; 82370 729, Dan. ii. 37.
Compare the title anciently assumed
by the king of Persia, Ezra vii. 12,
and still retained in the formula,

aitals, Shahinshah, “the Shah of
Shabs ;” | jl lala, “the Sultan

of Sultans,’ which is given to the

Grand Seignor ; the Egypt. ΟΟ ΩΤ ΕἸ
\ τ δὲν!
MN COY'TENIOY'; and the Ethiopic

“SRW: £'724'b: which have
the same signification. Comp. also
ἄναξ ἀνάκτων, Aschyl. Suppl. 533.

9. 1273, Calno, written 7352, Calneh,
Gen. x. 10 ; 7222, Amos vi. 2; and, by
dropping the 5, 723, Ezek. xxvii. 23.
LXX. Χαλάνη, Ctesiphon, avery ancient,
large, and celebrated city, on the
eastern bank of the Tigris, opposite
to Seleucia. It was afterwards the
winter residence of the Persian kings,
till about the time of Mohammed ;

and together with Seleucia, obtained
from the Arabs, in later times, the

name of rl, El-Madain, “the

Two Cities;” but all that now
remains are the ruins of a palace,
and numerous mounds of rubbish.—

wns, Arab. Kaas δ, Κιρκήσιον, Cer-
The word is
OF
compounded of ΤΆ, Syr. log, acastle,
and 2, a proper name. It was a
strongly fortified town, on the eastern
bank of the Euphrates, at the point
where it is joined by the Chaboras,
and thus possessed the advantages of
an insular position. It was taken by
Necho, king of Egypt, and retaken by
Nebuchadnezzar, 2 Chron. xxxv. 20;
2 Kings xxiii. 29 ; Jer. xlvi. 2. The
conquest mentioned by Isaiah is sup-
posed to have been made by Tiglath-
pileser. This city was celebrated in
the time of the Romans, and formed
their last fortress in the direction of
Persia. No notice is taken of its
ruins by modern travellers.—non, still

called ae, Hamath, by the Arabs;

LXX. Ἔμάθ, Αἰμάθ, Ἣμάθ; a large
city of Syria, pleasantly situated on
both sides of the Orontes, near the
northern confines of Palestine. It
was originally peopled by the Pheni-
cians, Gen. x. 18, and in course of
time became the capital of a kingdom
or principality of the same name, the
king of which was one of David's
allies, 2 Sam. viii. 9. It is the cele-
brated city to which the Greeks gave
the name of Epiphania, and continues
to be a place of great note, containing
upwards of thirty thousand inhabit-
ants, and its government comprising

cusium or Cuircessum.

92

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. X.

10 As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols,

And their graven images—

That were superior to those of Jerusalem and Samaria—
11 As I have done to Samaria and her idols,
Shall I not do to Jerusalem and her images ?
12 But it shall come to pass when the Lord hath finished the whole

of his work

On mount Zion and Jerusalem,

about one hundred and twenty small
towns or villages—T 1, Syr. = 3

Arpad, another city of Syria, at a
short distance from Hamath, with
which, for this reason, it is usually
associated, 2 Kings xvili. 34, xix. 13 ;
Jer. xlix. 23. Déderlein and others
suppose it to have been the same with
™ys, drvad, Gen. x. 18; Ezek. xxvii.
8,11; but this was a Pheenician city,
situated on a rock on the coast of
the Mediterranean, now called Ruad.
No traces of Arpad have been found
in later times.—The boast of the As-
syrian monarch is, that none of these
cities, however strongly fortified, had
been able to resist his arms; they had
all equally fallen before him.

10, 11. 87 is a collective noun,
which usually takes the article. Ἢ 7832
signifies fo reach, attain to, acquire, 10.
reference to the putting forth of the
hand in order to find or seize any
thing ; with > following, ¢o reach in the
way of punishment, Ps. xxi. 9.—n329
xa. The different nations of anti-
quity had their tutelary gods, under
whose patronage they placed them-
selves, and to whom they considered
themselves as belonging. That the
king of Assyria, who was himself a
worshipper of 0°? 2x, zon-entities, should
speak of them in this light, has ap-
peared to some to be out of place
here ; and they have endeavoured to
account for the language, on the prin-
ciple, that Isaiah, by whom all pagan
deities were thus regarded, puts the
term into the mouth of the monarch,
The supposition, however, is unneces-
sary, Since it is obvious that though
he did not entertain the enlightened
views of the Hebrews, he must have
regarded foreign gods as impotent

and worthless, especially after having,
with so much ease, conquered the
cities and countries of which they were
the professed protectors. Whether
ἹῸ be here designed to express supe-
riority in zumber or in power is some-
what doubtful; yet the latter idea
seems the more natural under the
circumstances of the case; the king
of Assyria having had an opportunity
of ascertaining the weakness of both
kingdoms by subjugating Ephraim,
and by his being called to assist Judah
against her enemies,—D3zY is not in
reality different in sense from Ox
preceding, but is used synonymously
with it, and with Ὁ ῸΕ, for the sake of
variety. At the same time, as derived
from 32, to work, labour, be in pain, it
conveys at once the ideas of human
origin, and the grief and pain consequent
upon idol-worship. Comp. Ps. xvi. 4.
There is a want of strict corre-
spondence between the protasis and
the apodosis in these two verses,
occasioned by the comparison made
between the foreign images and those
of Samaria and Jerusalem. To per-
fectly agree, the proposition must
have run thus: As my hand hath
found the kingdoms of the idols, and
their images that were superior to
those of Jerusalem and Samaria, so
shall it find, ἕο, But as Samaria had
already been taken, the proposition
required to be modified, which has
been done by transferring the com-
parison to these two cities; and by
introducing a new protasis in the
form of an interrogation, an apodosis
perfectly corresponding to it is brought
out. The agreement is marked by
the correlatives Wx) and }2.

12. Having allowed the king of As-
syria to carry forward his vaunting to

CHAP. X.]

ISATAH.

93

Then [saith he] I will punish the fruit of the proud heart of

Assyria’s king,

And the arrogance of his lofty looks.

13

For he saith, By the power of my hand I have done it,

And by my wisdom; for I am skilful.

Yea, I have removed the boundaries of the nations,
And plundered their treasures ;

And as an hero, I have brought down the enthroned.

14

Yea, my hand hath found, as a nest, the riches of the people;

And as men gather eggs that are left,
So have I gathered all the earth ;

the very point at which he was to be
arrested in his proud career, Jehovah
states the reason why he was per-
mitted to proceed so far, and then
declares he will punish him for his

pride. Y¥3, 6s S49, has usually

the signification of cutting, amputating ;
but as it is specially used of a weaver,
cutting off his web when he has
finished it, the idea of finishing or com-
pleting came to be attached to it, Isa.
XxXxvlii. 12; Lam. ii. 17; Zech. iv. 9.
Seventeen of Kennicott’s MSS. read
m7; one has this reading in the mar-
gin; and another reads 773m. Ac-
cording to Lowth, the former is also
found in three printed editions. In
wx 772 327 728, four nouns succes-
sively occur in construction ; three
frequently thus occur, as Gen. xlvii.
9; Job xii. 24; Isa. xili. 4; and in
1 Chron. ix. 13, not fewer than jive ;
though, strictly speaking, some of
them express only one compound
idea. Between ®, and ΓΝ there is
a slight paronomasia, just as there is
an obvious connexion between the
meaning of the words—myxen being
used here in the acceptation of glory
or beauty as applicable to a stately
tree, covered with the richest foliage.
Comp. s®, ver. 33. The heart being
regarded as the root of our actions,
the looks correspond to the leaves,
and the actions themselves to the
fruit. A finer picture of an arrogant
and insolent conqueror than that
drawn in this passage cannot be
imagined.

13. mrny, according to the Keri

many, but correctly nivny, lit. things
prepared, kept in readiness, laid up, 1. 6.

goods, treasures, riches, from WY, Mc,
paratus fuit, reposuit ; ΣᾺ tic, discus,

in quo reponuntur adornamenta, &c.,
and by meton, the precious things con-
ἊΝ ¥ “

tained in such vessel; Syr. (Osa),

their treasures. — NW, or, as it is spelt
in a great number of MSS. ‘no, in
many ‘YO; in others ‘now: the Poél
of ποῦ, to plunder, take as spoil —Kimchi
thinks that in Y2x2 either the Aleph is
epenthetic, or the word is a dictio
composita, formed of V3) and 3s,
which have both the same significa-
tion, but combined, tend to augment
the idea. There can be little doubt,
however, that the true pointing is
vax, like a mighty one, or hero. The 3,
Gesenius and Hendewerk take to be
the Caph veritatis. See on chap. 1. 7.—
DIB, sitting, is elliptical for nixod °2187,
those who sit on thrones, i. 6. kings and
judges. Comp. ἔς a throne, and

Ps. xxix. 10. The boast of the con-
queror is, that, solely in virtue of his
own native power and policy, he had
put down the distinctions which sepa-
rated one nation from another, de-
throned their kings, and enriched
himself with their treasures.

14. Describes the completeness of
the Assyrian conquests, as well as the
facility with which they had been
effected. No resistance was offered,
nor did any dare to complain. The
reference to the taking of eggs, or

M

94

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. X,

There was none that moved the wing,
Or opened the beak, or chirped!
15 Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth with it?
Shall the saw magnify itself against him that moveth it ?
As if the rod should wave them that raise it:
As if the staff should raise him who is not wood.
16 Wherefore the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, shall send upon his fat

ones leanness,

And under his nobility shall he kindle a burning, like the

burning of fire.

young birds, out of a nest, is exqui-
site; and no language could more
appropriately have expressed the in-
satiable rapacity of an invading foe,
and the feebleness of those whom he
attacked. By yp, west, is meant the
contents of the nest.

15. Again the boastful monarch is
abruptly checked by Him who had
employed him as his instrument, and
to whose control he was in absolute
subjection. The absurdity of his
vaunting is forcibly depicted by sup-
posing the case of an inanimate tool
disengaging itself from the power of
the intelligent agent by whom it is
used, and treating him as if they had
exchanged places with each other.
m2 signifies fo wave any thing up and
down, and in Hiph. as here, to cause
any thing thus to move, such as the
saw, or the axe. The change of the
singular to the plural in 72%, is to be
ascribed to the introduction of the
term ©0323, rod, which Jehovah had
employed of the king of Assyria, ver.
5, and which is thus again applied
here with great effect. Comp. for
similar plural designations of God, Ps.
exlix.‘2; Hecles. x1i:71;-Isa. xxii. 11,
liv. 5; and see Dr. J. Pye Smith on
the Person of Christ, vol. i. p. 468.
With respect to the passage itself, the
MSS. exhibit considerable discrepancy
in their readings. Sixty-six MSS,
seven more originally, seven now, and
upwards of twenty printed editions,
read, ὙΌΣ nx) oI HpI73, As if the rod
should wave itself AND those who raise it.
Eight MSS., originally one, and now
another, have the singular 122, HIM
that raiseth it, which is supported by
the Syr. and Vulg. Four or five

codices read WY) ὅν, but both these
latter appear evidently to be emenda-
tions. The former yields an admirable
sense; but as it wants the suffrages
of the ancient versions, it may also be
the result of conjecture—a conjecture
more ingenious than most of those
supplied by the Masoretic school.—
yr). By a Hebrew idiom the nega-
tive particle δ, prefixed to nouns, often
gives them a directly contrary mean-
ing. Thus 2s, “that which is xoé
God,” i.e. an idol, Deut. xxxii. 21;
Jer. v. 7; Ws 8), and DIN 8°, Him who is
not man, i.e. God, Isa, xxxi. 8; and so
in the present instance by him who is
not wood, is rweant God, who is of a
nature altogether different.

16. A resumption of the threaten-
ing briefly introduced ver. 12, but
dropped to leave room for a further
exhibition of the haughty boastings
of the Assyrian. It is now specially
taken up, and enlarged upon to ver.
19.—There can be no doubt that, in
consequence of Jewish superstition,
the Divine name has here been tam-
pered with by some copyist. ‘18 iNT
mixiz occurs nowhere else in the He-
brew Bible: but isis Ti PWT occurs
chap. i. 24, i. 1, x. 33, xix. 4; and it)
is the reading of the present verse in
upwards of fifty MSS. and more than
twelve printed editions.—r22u and
4739, correspond to and elucidate each
other. They are both abstract nouns
expressive of the robust and stately
appearance of the Assyrian captains.
Comp. Ps. lxxviii. 31; Judg. 11. 29,
where the adjective yov is similarly
used; and Isa. xvii. 4, where both
terms occur as here. Targ. 4222), Ais
princes or great ones, by explanation.

CHAP. X.]

ISATAH.

95

17 Yea, the Light of Israel shall become a fire,

And his Holy One a flame ;

And it shall burn and consume
His thorns and his briers in a day.
18 And the glory of his forest and of his plantation,
Both soul and body shall it consume ;
And he shall faint as an invalid.

—In WP? WW. is a paronomasia;
comp. chap. xxii. 17; and the figure is
derived from the custom of collecting
heaps of thorns, &c., and then setting
fire to them from below. The passage
predicts the sudden and miraculous
destruction of the Assyrian army
recorded 2 Chron. xxxii. 21; Isa.
XXXVI. 36.

17. °xTwX, Jehovah is called the
Light of Israel, because he was the
author of their prosperity and happi-
ness; so that the phrase contains a
double metaphor. Zhorns and briers
stand here for the common soldiers,
not so much perhaps in contempt, as
in reference to the spears and lances
with which they were armed, and in
illustration of the figure introduced
ver. 16.

18. To express still more strongly
the greatness of the destruction with
which the hostile army was to be
visited, it is compared to the con-
sumption of a forest and a plantation
by fire—22, properly the name of a
celebrated mountain in Palestine, but
also used of other localities resembling
it in scenery and fertility, Josh. xv.
55; Isa. xxix. 17; or rather, perhaps,
it took the name from them, as thus
distinguished. Gesenius considers the
word to be a derivative from 02, an
orchard, garden, vineyard, and 5 used as
a diminutive; but this appropriation
of > is not fully established. Lowth
proposes 8, which is also uncertain.
Wwarty) wa, from the soul even to the
Jlesh, a proverbial mode of expression,
denoting the entire person, and so used
adverbially for altogether, entirely. v3,
opposed to 93, signifies body, Job xiv.
22; Prov. xiv. 30.— Ὁ and 1, connected
as here, mean izclusive of, and compre-
hend the whole of what is specified,
as in Jonah 11]. 5—tp3 Ddn2, Lowth
conjectures that the LXX. must have

read 0d) wNn2; but this is highly im-
probable, since their duplicate form, ὁ
φεύγων as ὁ φεύγων, exactly tallies
with that of the present text, only
attaching the signification of flight to
both words. To neither, however,
does such signification attach, except
we were to regard 003 as the Pilel of
Ὁ"), which its position forbids. The
following words of the LXX. ἀπὸ φλο-
γὸς καιομένης, are merely added for the
purpose of completing the meaning,
and have no reference to 0093. The
assonance of the words, which is quite
in the style of Isaiah, and of the
Orientals generally, affords satisfactory
evidence that the reading is genuine.
We have, therefore, no choice but to
select one or other of the two ideas
conveyed by 0D2: fo elevate or carry a
standard; or, to be an invalid, sick, &e.
The former is that of the rabbins, and
from them, of most of the received
versions, of Dathe, and others; the
latter is adopted by Hezel, Schelling,
Rosenmiuller, Gesenius, Hitzig, and

Hendewerk. Comp. the Syr. Ἰρλ 9
sick; the Arab. (yw, Fut. O. and I.
siccus fuit ; sitabunda fuit ;
Uren’ extremum vite spiritus; YA

mm mI, ferme mortuus fuit. Castel.
Comp. note on chap. lix. 19. The
meaning is, that the king himself,
overwhelmed by the miraculous over-
throw of his army, should be so com-
pletely dispirited as to resemble a
wretched invalid, sinking through
weakness and want of sustenance.
The supposition of an ensign or stand-
ard-bearer being referred to, proceeds
upon the principle that the army
should be affected by his giving way,
whereas the connexion requires that
the action specified should be conse-

sitivit,

90 ISATAH.

[CHAP, x.

19 And the remnant of the trees of his forest shall be few;
So that a child may count them.

20 And it shall be in that day,

That the remnant of Israel, and the escaped of the house of

Jacob,

Shall no more stay themselves upon him that smote them,
But they shall truly stay themselves upon Jehovah, the Holy

One of Israel.

21 Yet only a remnant shall return, a remnant of Jacob

To tHe Miauty Gop;

22 For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea,
Only a remnant shall turn to him.

quent upon the destruction of the
army.

19. ἜΘ is not, according to the
usage of the language, a xwmber, in the
sense of xumerous, but few in number,
which the following clause also shews.
Comp. 7802 ’n, Gen. xxxiv. 30; Deut.
iv. 27; and 7209, by itself, as here,
Deut. xxxiii. 6. The number of men
smitten in the camp of the Assyrians
amounted to a hundred and eighty-five
thousand. Isa, Xxxvii. 36.

20, si Oa, ἐμ that day, is not to be
restricted to the precise day of the
fall of the enemy, but includes also
the future. See note, chap. iv. 1.
The prophet might have employed
the verb yj sy, as chap. vii. 9, to
express the exercise of trust in God;
but the idea of 79, staff, being
suggested by 1132, him that smote him,
it was more natural to employ the
Niphal of jv, Zo lean, as one does
upon a staff, for support. Such of the
Jews as survived the calamity would
be convinced of the folly of dependence
on Assyria, and henceforth put their
trust in Jehovah alone, from whom
their confidence ought never to have
been transferred. 283, in truth, truly,
i.e. sincerely—the meaning being,
that when attacked by external ene-
mies in future, they should not profess
to make God their confidence, and yet
call in a foreign king to protect them,
as they had lately done when threat-
ened by the confederated forces of
their neighbours. The prediction was
fulfilled in the subsequent history of
the Jews.

21—23. Having spoken of ww, ¢he
remnant, Isaiah repeats the term with
emphasis in this verse, to shew that
how sincere soever might be the
general trust of the Jews in God, as
it respected temporal deliverances,
comparatively few of them would be
converted to 122 ὅν, Taz Migury Gop,
i.e. the Messiah, predicted under this
title, chap. ix. 5. The language is
exceedingly abrupt and elliptical. Be-
fore the former δῦ, supply Js, yet
only. This the 22d verse shews to be
absolutely requisite in order to com-
plete the sense; as does also the
reasoning of the Apostle, Rom. ix. 27,
28, where the passage, quoted in appli-
cation to the rejection of Christ by
the great mass of the Jewish nation,
would lose its point, were the words
not to be rendered, “only a remnant
shall be saved.” See Stuart and Hodge.
—ia, is usually referred to *2¥, as its
subject; but this construction, consi-
dering the position of the word, is
harsh. It seems much more natural
to connect it with the verb imme-
diately before it, and regard 71228 as
the antecedent. That 3 is also fol-
lowed by 3, when true conversion is
meant, see Hos. xii. 7, PWD 7PNa THN).
—j", completion, consumption, consum-
mation, entire destruction, from the
Piel of 723, ἐο be completed, spent, wasted.
you, decided, determined, not with-
out primary reference to the incision
of the sentence pronounced by a judge,
in some tablet, or other hard sub-
stance: ~17 signifying ¢o cut, cut into.
It was hence considered to be fived and

CHAP. X.]

ISAIAH.

97

A consummation is determined,
Overflowing with righteousness ;

23

Surely a consummation, even that which is determined,

Shall the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, effect in the midst of all the

land.
94

Nevertheless thus saith the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts:

Fear not, O my people! that inhabitest Zion,

Because of the Assyrian ;

He may smite thee with the rod,
And raise his staff against thee,

In the manner of Egypt;

25 But yet a very little while, and the indignation shall be

completed,

irreversible, which is the idea in the

is expletive-—Seventy-three MSS. at
least, originally four more, now five,
and one in the margin, together with
seven printed editions, omit 73, as does
also the Targ.; but it was more likely
to be omitted than inserted by a
copyist: the usual forms being /8773,
or YT. That the plenary form
exhibited in the textus receptus is
not without a parallel, comp. 73
metro, Deut. xi, 6; LXX. ἐν τῇ
οἰκουμένῃ ὅλῃ. The phrase is emphatic.
—The entire bearing of these verses,
viewed in connexion with the applica-
tion of part of the language by Daniel
to the final destruction of Jerusalem,
and the use made of them by Paul as
above referred to, leaves no room for
doubt that they were designed by the
Spirit of God to describe the awful
punishment to be inflicted on the
Jewish nation for their rejection of
the Messiah, and the comparatively
small number by whom he would be
received,

24. The prophet returns to his
immediate subject—the Assyrian in-
vasion, and exhorts the people in
Zion not to be intimidated by the
event.—}22 has an adversative rather
than a causal power in this connexion:

notwithstanding, nevertheless.—O 2 ΤΥῚΒ
is to be rendered, neither “in the
way to Egypt,” nor “in the way from
Egypt,” but, ἐμ the manner of Egypt, i.e.
as Egypt, or, the Egyptians did—the
manner in which they acted towards
the children of Israel. Comp. for this
use of V3, Ezek. xx. 30. In ver. 26,
the phrase is similarly used, only with
this difference, that Egypt, instead of
being used in the active, is taken in
the passive acceptation of the term:
as he did against Egypt. Comp. for
the passive, Amos. iv. 10. There is
thus a beautiful contrast between the
two verses.

25, ΤΌ OY) occurs again chap. xvi.
14, xxix. 17; and is appropriately
given in German, eiz klein wenig. Sy-
nonymes are frequently used in Heb,
to express intensity.—oV, ixdiguation,
signifies here the punishment inflicted
by Jehovah upon the Jews. When
that punishment should be completed,
the Divine displeasure (28) would be
turned against their enemies, and
effect their destruction, 023, without
either the article, or the pronom. affix,
is quite in the style of Isaiah. See
chap. xxvi. 20, so that the alteration
made by Lowth cannot be sustained.
For oman, their destruction, five MSS.,
three others originally, and seven
printed editions, read on, their
perfection, i.e. perfect or complete end:
but the former, according to usage, is
the. more appropriate, and has the
suffrage of most of the ancient ver-

98 ISAIAH.

[CHAP. X.

And my anger in their destruction.

26 For Jehovah of Hosts shall raise up a scourge against him,
As the slaughter of Midian, at the rock Oreb.
His rod shall be upon the sea; he shall raise it

In the manner of Egypt.
27 And it shall be in that day,

That his burden shall be removed from thy shoulder,

sions. It is derived from 193, Arab.
«οὖ to grow old, be worn out, come to

nothing ; hence dy, affictio; "3, failure,

destruction. 'The letters 3 and 3 being
very similar, have often been mistaken
for each other. The prepos. 2? marks
the object on which the Divine anger
rests.

26.) is here equivalent to 33, and in-
troduces the cause of the destruction
predicted at the end of the preceding

ni, Arab. baw, ὦ whip or

verse.

scourge, used figuratively to denote
any hostile invader, or any awful
plague or calamity which God inflicts
upon a people. For the reference, see
Judges vii. 25. As Oreb, one of the
two kings of Midian, after escaping
the slaughter of his troops, was taken
and slain at a rock of the same name,
so Sennacherib should escape from the
calamity which destroyed his army,
but he also should afterwards be
killed. By 095, the sea, is meant the
Euphrates, the symbol of the Assyrian
power. Comp. chap. xix. 5; Nah. iii. 8;
where it is used of the Nile. For the
fulfilment, see chap. xxxvil. 36—38.
The second reference is to the un-
expected and complete overthrow of
Pharaoh in the Rea Sea, Exod, xiv.
26, 27.

27. This verse shews that the dis-
comfiture of Sennacherib should be
followed by the immediate liberation
of the Jews from the oppressive
tribute that had been imposed upon
them, The concluding words > 73ΠῚ
y2w72Bp, present no difficulty as to
construction, or in regard to their sig-
nification, taken separately ; but few
sentences have more perplexed inter-
preters, as it respects the sense. Vi-
tringa fancifully labours to establish

an identity in meaning between 20
and χρίσμα, 1 John ii. 27. Secker and
Lowth indulge as usual in conjecture,
but very unsatisfactorily. Gesenius
strongly, but justly, calls the word,
ὉΠ ὩΣ, which Lowth proposes, an
Unding, a thing that has no existence
in the Hebrew language: and with
Hitzig, Maurer, and others, takes the
term in the ordinary acceptation of
fatness, and supposes the prophet to
be comparing Israel to a fat and wan-
ton bullock which shakes off the yoke.
But to this exegesisit must be objected,
that it neither gives the proper force
of the verb 719, which signifies ¢o spoil
or destroy, nor does it suit the con-
nexion, in which no intimation is
given of the Jews themselves break-
ing the yoke that had been imposed
upon them. Besides, there would
scarcely be any propriety in intro-
ducing a clause with this sense, after
the statement already made in the
verse, distinctly announcing the re-
moval of the yoke. I am, therefore,
inclined with the Targ., Jarchi,
Kimchi, Munster, Vatablus, Castalio,
Grotius, and others, to consider }2W
as denoting the oi/ with which the
Jewish Kings were anointed, and
hence by common figure, ¢he persons
thus anointed. Most of those who
adopt this acceptation of the word,
apply the passage to Hezekiah, and
suppose the meaning to be that, 2
yoo, for his sake, as the anointed king
of the Jews, the Lord had broken the
Assyrian yoke. But may we not with
Munster ask: “Quid si Propheta hic
respexerit ad Christum Domini?”
Thus the Targ. 8d 077,779 NY IAN},
and the nations shall be broken before the
Messiah. This interpretation well
agrees with the manner and design δῇ
the prophet, who ever and anon re-
verts to the promised Deliverer, and

CHAP. iX.]

And his yoke from thy neck :

ISATAH.

99

And the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.
28 He hath arrived at Aiyath; he hath passed through Migron ;
At Michmash he hath laid up his baggage.
29 They have gone through the pass ;
Geba they have made their night-quarters.

frequently, as here, most abruptly, in
consequence of some temporal cir-
cumstance or event which the Holy
Spirit employed, in order to suggest
Him and the great salvation to his
mind. What strongly corroborates
this view of the passage, is the close
connexion between the words in ques-
tion and chap. xi., which is undeniably
predictive of the Messiah, and must
have followed immediately but for
the intervening description of Senna-
cherib’s impending march against
Jerusalem. In the Translation, how-
ever, 1 have not felt authorized to
employ the term Azointed, but have
retained the word already existing in
our common English version, which
is at once true to the original as a
translation, and yet furnishes an index
to the just exegesis of the words.

28. From this verse to the thirty-
second inclusive, we have a minute
and animated graphic description of
the approach of the Assyrians to-
wards Jerusalem, and the conster-
nation into which it threw the
inhabitants of those towns which lay
in their route. That it is an historical
description of the past, Hitzig, and
those who think with him, can only
maintain on a settled principle of un-
belief with respect to prophetic inspi-
ration. Even Gesenius is constrained
to admit that it is zdeal; which would
be true, if thereby were meant that
the circumstances existed at the time
only in the mind of the prophet, and
in that of Him by whom he was in-
spired : but what he intends is, that
it was merely matter of imagination
and poetical colouring. Consistency
of interpretation, however, compels
to the conclusion, that, whatever
there may be of singular poetic beauty
in the passage, it is strictly propheti-
cal, and was historically fulfilled.
What decides it to relate to the

future is the occurrence of Impera-
tives, ver. 30, which we never find in
descriptions of the past.—nv, Aiyath,
LXX. Tai, ’Ayyai, occurs only here
under this form, but is called ~Y, Aiya,
Neh. xi. 31, and doubtless is the same
as Y, ‘YT, 47, a royal city of the Canaan-
ites, situated on an elevation, within
the northern confines of Benjamin, at
a short distance to the east of Bethel,
Gen. xii. 8, and nearly due north-east
from Jerusalem. It was taken and de-
stroyed by Joshua, chap. viii., but was
afterwards, to some extent, rebuilt,
Ezra ii. 28. In the time of Eusebius
and Jerome, only a few inconsiderable
ruins remained.—j122, Migron, the LXX.
by mistake, Mayyed#, is described,
1 Sam. xiv. 2, as situated at the north-
ern extremity of the hilly country
of Gibeah, at some distance to the
south-east of Bethel—wn20, Ezra ii.
27, D222, LXX. Maypas, Josephus,
Maxpa; a town still farther in ad-
vance, towards the south-west, but
east of Bethaven, 1 Sam. xiii. 5; and,
according to Eusebius, near Ramah,
about nine miles from Jerusalem. In
his time it was a place of some note.
It was chiefly important in a military
point of view, on account of the pass
in its vicinity, mentioned in the fol-
lowing verse. This place the As-
syrians chose as the depét of their
baggage, considering it a fit place to
fall back upon in case of a repulse.
29. Special notice is taken of the
pass at Michmash presenting no ob-
stacle to Sennacherib. This pass was
confined by two sharp cliffs, called
Bozez and Seneh: the one facing
Michmash on the north, and the other
Gibeah on the south. In the time of
Saul it was defended by a garrison of
Philistines, 1 Sam. xiv. 4, 5, and is
represented as exceedingly steep, ver.
13. From the term occurring in the
plural, nn3r2, 1 Sam. xiv. 4, it appears

100

Ramah trembleth ;
Gibeah of Saul fleeth.

ISAIAH.

[CHAP.. xX.

30 Give a shrill cry, O daughter of Gallim!

Listen, Laish !
Aniyah! Anathoth!
31 Madmenah is fled;

The inhabitants of Gebim have taken to flight.

to have consisted of more than one
gorge or defile: probably there was
one main opening, in which were
two or more divisions, formed by
remaining portions of the rock.—?1,
Geba, LXX. by mistake, from ver. 28,
᾿Αγγαί, elsewhere, Γαβαά, a city of the
Levites on the northern limit of the
tribe of Judah, but in that of Ben-
jamin ; hence called Geba of Benjamin,
1 Kings xv. 22.—%9 179 922 is not to be
rendered, Geba is their quarters ; but,
they have taken up quarters at Geba: 1. 6.
for the night. Lowth, and after him,
Déderlein, Dathe, and others, taking
222 to be the pronoun of the first per-
son plural, and not finding it to agree
in construction, change the reading
into 192, to them; whereas it is the
third singular of the verb 13), fo remain
over night, to tarry for a night. For the
form 712 752, comp. 1309 120, 2 Sam, iv.
5, where nx, the sign of the Accus. is
expressed.— 1294, Ramah, lit. the high
place, so called from its elevated situa-
tion. It also lay in the tribe of Ben-
jamin, about six miles north from
Jerusalem, in the direction of Bethel.
Its site is now occupied by a village
named Nebi Sahamiel, and it is not
to be confounded with another town
of the same name, now called Ramla,
on the road from Jerusalem to Joppa,
which was first built in the eighth
century.—™Kxv nvi3, Gibeah of Saul,
LXX. πόλιν Σαούλ, so called to distin-
guish it from a town of the same
name in Judah, Josh. xv. 57, and
from its having been the birth-place,
and afterwards the residence of Saul,
1 Sam. x. 26, xv. 34. An Arab village

called Liste, Jib, is now supposed

to Sie ck its site.

30. 03, Gallim, occurs elsewhere
only 1 Sam. xxv. 44, and in connexion
with ὧδ, Zaish, as here ; only the lat-

ter is there the name of a man, and
not of a place. Though we have no
other notice of a Laish in Judah, it is
clear from the present passage, that a
place of that name must have existed ;
for the construction that would sup-
pose a reference to the celebrated city
so called, near the sources of the Jor-
dan, is too violent to be admitted.
The 7 is paragogic.—™» Aniyah, has
unnecessarily perplexed interpreters.
It is neither an adjective nor a verb,
but the proper name of a place, most
probably Bethania, or Bethany, i. 8.
mya, the ma being dropped, as freq.
in proper names. Comp. Beth-As-
maveth, and Asmaveth ; Beth-Baal-meon,
and Baal-meon. Hitzig suggests 7229,
Ananiah, which occurs Neh. xi. 32, in
connexion with Nob and Anathoth as
in Isaiah, and is probably only another
form of ™2¥, the Nun being dropped,
and compensation being made by
Dagesh inserted in the Yod; as jpx
for 28. What supports this opinion,
is the proximity of Bethany to Ana-
thoth ; the former being two, and the
latter three miles from Jerusalem, in
the direction of Jericho. The in-
habitants of Gallim were /o raise a
shrill ery, ἜΣ, and thus give the alarm
to the three neighbouring towns of
Laish, Aniyah, and Anathoth, the
situation of which being more towards
the east, would afford their inhabitants
time to escape before the enemy ad-
vanced.—niniy, <Anathoth was one of
the cities of Benjamin given to the
priests, and was the birth-place of
Jeremiah, Jer.i.1. It is still known
by the name of Andta.

31, 32. Of Madmenah and Gebim we
have no further notices : 72212, Mad-
mannah, Josh. xv. 31, lying too far
south to suit the present connexion,—

wy7, the Hiph. of ny, Arab. dle, cor-
/

CHAP. X.|

32 A day more, to halt at Nob,

ISAIAH.

101

And then he will shake his hand
Against the mountain of the daughter of Zion,

Against the hill of Jerusalem.

33 Behold! the Lord Jehovah of Hosts
Shall cut off the branches with a tremendous blow;
The high of stature shall be cut down,
And the lofty shall be brought low.

34 And he shall hew the thickets of the forest with iron,

fugit ad aliquem, to flee for refuge, but
used intransitively to agree with 7772,
—ni, Nob, LXX. Νόμβα, (though here
reading 1, they have rendered it τῇ
χειρί,) a sacerdotal city, so near to
Jerusalem that the latter was visible
from it, though surrounded by moun-
tains. It hada sanctuary, in which a
regular religious service was performed,
1 Sam. xxi. 4, 6, 9, xxii. 13—The
article in ΟἿ has little or no force,
and may best be rendered indefinitely.
The meaning is, that Sennacherib
would only spend a day at Nob, in
order to reconnoitre the city of Jeru-
salem, muster his troops, and prepare
for the attack—vT 55, like 5y πὸ Fp,
means to shake the hand as a gesture
of threatening—— For m3, in the
phrase j}?z27~3, the Keri proposes m3,
which is the textual reading of a vast
number of MSS., and several of the
earliest and best editions, and is
adopted in that of Hahn. None of the
ancient versions have read™3, house.
ory nyu, the hill of Jerusalem, occurs
only in this place.

33. Having conducted the proud
Assyrian within view of Jerusalem,
and allowed him and his forces a day
to rest in the vicinity, the prophet at
once changes his tone, summons at-
tention to the sudden and unexpected
prevention of the attack by a miracu-
lous intervention of Divine power, and
describes, in language similar to that
which he had employed vers. 17—19,
the tremendous overthrow that would
ensue. That the subject of the de-
struction here predicted is the king of
Assyria and his army, and not that of
Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, which
Michaelis, Koppe, Déderlein, and
others, suppose to be meant, cannot,

I think, be fairly called in question.—
ΘΟ, ς αὐ, dissecutt, to divide, sepa-

rate one thing from another, break
or lop off branches from a tree. The
verb occurs nowhere else.—7}82 = 7188
signifies beautiful branches, the orna-
ment of trees; and, metaphorically,
the most showy and imposing parts
of an army. Forty MSS. read 77»,
which signifies a wine-press; and thus
the Targ., Symm., and Theod., but
erroneously. See Gesenius ἐκ Joc.

34, The metaphor of cutting down
a wood is continued, only a promi-
nence is given to the instrument; and
the metaphor is amplified by a com-
parison of the closely-united bands of
the army to intertwined thickets of
underwood, and of the whole mass of
which it was composed, to Lebanon,
the largest and most majestic moun-
tain in the vicinity of Judea, This
celebrated mountain, in Heb. 7522), the

White Mountain, Arab. el A>,

the Snow Mountain, from the perpetual
snows which cover its summits, con-
sists of two parallel ridges, stretching
in a northerly direction between Phoe-
nicia and Damascus, and intersected

by Lani], the Bekaa, or valley,

otherwise known by the name of
Coeelosyria. The more easterly goes
by the name of Anti-Libanus, and is
upwards of 9,000 feet high. The
Arabs say of it, that it carries winter
on its head, spring on its shoulders,
harvest in its bosom, while summer
sleeps at its feet. Its terraces are
covered with gardens and cultivated
fields, and present the most enchant-
ing prospects to the eye of the tra-

N

102 ISAIAH. [CHAP, ΧΙ:

And by a mighty one shall Lebanon fall.

veller. By ‘m3, izstruments made of angel by whom the catastrophe was to
iron, Such as axes and hatchets, are be effected. Thus Kimchi.
meant; and Ὑπὸ denotes the mighty

CHAPTER ΧΙ.

By an easy transition, the prophet here introduces the person, character, and
kingdom of the Messiah, 1—10; describes the extension of the Gospel
among the nations of the earth; and predicts the restoration of the
Hebrews from the Babylonish captivity, and from their various minor
dispersions, and their happy union in their own land, 11—16. That it is
to a past and not to any future restoration of the Jews reference is here
made, is manifest from the mention made, ver. 14, of the Philistines, &c.,
who no longer exist, but whom we are compelled to understand as being
literally meant, on the same principle that Judah, Ephraim, Assyria, Egypt,
&c., are to be interpreted literally, 11—13.

With respect to the application of this prophecy to the Messiah, a greater
degree of unanimity obtains among interpreters than in reference to almost
any other. The exposition given of the first verse, in the Targ. 8372 pm’
ra TMI2 23 NW wT Ta, “And the king shall come forth from the sons
of Jesse, and THE ΜΕΒΒΙΔῊ shall grow up from his sons’ sons,” has been
sustained and defended by Jarchi, Abarbanel, and Kimchi; by the best
biblical scholars since the Reformation; especially, among the moderns, by
Michaelis, Déderlein, Lowth, Koppe, Beckhaus, Reinhard, v. ἃ. Palm, De-
reser, Jahn, Rosenmiiller, and Hengstenberg; and even Hichhorn, Gesenius,
and Hitzig, are forced to fall in with such application, though, as might be
expected, they only recognise their ¢dea/ Messiah in the chapter. It appears
from Theodoret, that, in his time, some of the Jews considered Zerubbabel
to be meant; Ephraim Syrus, Abenezra, v.d. Hardt, White, Bardt, Hezel,
Paulus, and some others, refer it to Hezekiah; Barhebreeus, Grotius, and
Dathe, to Hezekiah primarily, and secondarily to Christ. Its application,
however, to our Saviour is clearly sanctioned by the N. T. Not to insist on
our Lord’s declaring that he is the Roor and the Orrsprine of David, Rev.
xxii. 16, (comp. chap. v. 5,) we find ver. 10 expressly quoted, Rom. xv. 12,
to prove his dominion over the believing Gentiles. On 2 Thess. ii. 8, see
ver, 4,

1 Buta Shoot shall come forth from the stem of Jesse;

1. The 1 at once closely “connects —Nx. is used of the coming forth, or
the chapters, and intimates the con- springing up of plants, 1 Kings v. 13 ;
trast between the king of Assyria, Gen.1, 12, 24; Isa. lxi. 11; but also
and the Messiah, about to be described, tropically of descendants, Gen. xvii.

CHAP. XI.]

ISATAH,

103

And a fruitful Sprout shall grow up from his roots.
2 And the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him ;
The Spirit of wisdom and discernment ;

6; and, as here, specially of the Re-
deemer, Micah v. 1. ™2¥, Branch, is
the term by which he is more usually
designated, comp. chap. iv. 2; but 19h,
and 71%}, better suit the present con-
nexion. The former is related to the

Arab, poh Syr. poms, a slender,

flexible shoot or twig; from js, to

wave, swing to and fro; the latter is
derived from 12), fo view with attention,
_ attract notice by the display of verdure,
be verdant, like a young branch, or

sprout. Comp. the Arab. Ὁ, germina

sua ostendit terra; and 3» lete viruit

arbor. Aquila ἀκρέμονα ; Theod. and
Symm. βλαστός ; the LXX. ἄνθος .---
232 is properly what remains in the
earth of the trunk of a tree that has

been felled. Comp. ξ to cut off;
go> a stump, or the remaining part

of apalm tree. Aquila., Theod., Symm.
κορμός. The parallel rey proves it to
mean the part which remains, and not
that which is cut off with its branches.
Comp. Job xiv. 8; Isa. xl. 24. The
idea of a hewn tree having been
suggested by the use of the terms
py7a and FP, at the conclusion of the
preceding chapter, the image is em-
ployed to set forth the reduced and
lowly condition of the house of David
at the time of Messiah’s birth. The
tree had been cut down in a political
point of view, but it had not been
rooted up; the family had not become
extinct. Further to indicate its mean
condition, the name of David, which
would have suggested notions of dig-
nity and splendour, is suppressed, and
that of his father Jesse is employed,
which conveys the ideas of rustic
simplicity and obscurity. The last
historical notices which we have of
this family are from the time of
Domitian, who, jealous of the king
whom the Jews still expected to arise
from it, ordered all that belonged to it

to be put to death. Euseb. Hist.
Eccles. lib. iii. c. 19, 20.
2. This verse contains a description
of the supernatural endowments to be
-conferred upon-the human nature of
our Lord, by the agency of the Holy
Spirit —y7r 7, elsewhere OX 1, 7
wp, and κατ᾽ ἐξοχὴν Mm, the Great,
Preeminent, Uncreated Spirit, whose
energy, like that of the wind, is invi-
sible, John iii. 8; who cherished, and
gave motion and order to the chaotic
mass at the creation, and still vivifies
the universe, Gen. i. 2; Ps. civ. 30;
the author of all that is holy, good, or
excellent in man, ΡΒ. li. 12, exliii. 10.
To him is specially ascribed the im-
partation of extraordinary gifts and
influences, by which men were qualified
for performing what they never could
have effected by mere natural power,
Exod, xxxi. 3, xxxy. 31; Judg. iii. 10,
vi. 34, &c.; Numb. xxiv. 2; 1 Sam. x.
10. He is here represented as the
author of that plenitude of Divine
influence by which the Messiah was
fitted for discharging the duties of
his great undertaking. Comp. Luke
iv. 1, Ἰησοῦς δὲ πνεῦματος ἁγίου πλήρης 5
John ili. 34, οὐ γὰρ ἐκ μέτρου δίδωσιν
6 Θεὸς τὸ πνεῦμα.---ἰ 12, from ™3, fo
come down upon a person, or place, so as
to remain, to rest, continue. Thus the

Syr. }7a20 «03222; and to this

force of the verb pointed reference
seems to be had John i. 33, τὸ
πνεῦμα καταβαῖνον καὶ pevov.—
nmomom, &c. is in apposition with
mmm, and does not mean a wise,
prudent spirit, &c., but the Spirit by
whom the qualities of wisdom, pru-
dence, &c., were to be imparted. The
genitive is that of cause, not of pos-
session; and 1 is used throughout in
a personal sense, The qualities speci-
fied are grouped in pairs, which,
though not susceptible of perfect dis-
tinction, nevertheless sufficiently vary
in point of general signification, to
admit of distinct consideration. Ac-
cording to Hebrew usage, 7927, wisdom,
is most extensive in its import, com-

104

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XI.

The Spirit of counsel and might ;
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah.
3 So that he shall be of quick perception in regard to the fear of

Jehovah ;

prehending the whole circle of mental
endowments and moral excellences by
which it is possible for intelligent
beings to be distinguished. The
primary idea conveyed by the root

Don » is that of solid, practical

=v)

knowledge—to be possessed of clear,
definite, adequate, and influential con-
ceptions relative to the nature of
objects, and so capable of judging and
pronouncing rightly concerning them.
In Arab. the idea of giving judgment
as the result of such knowledge, is

predominant; hence rs a judges

phe decision, sentence; though este

signifies gui res solide, et cum judicio
agit, and is particularly used of a
physician, on account of his skill in
judging of diseases, and knowing what
to apply for their removal. Comp.
Sob xin, 12913, V6; xi. 5, v.98, +9;
XXVili. 28, xxxii. 7,9. “72 differs from
the preceding only as it conveys the
idea of discernment, or discrimination ;
judgment formed by the comparison
of things which differ, and a just ap-
preciation of the points of difference.
It is derived from 73, ¢o separate, dis-

tinguish; Avab. we med. Je. fo be

distinct, separate. The two terms are
frequently coupled together ; Job
evan 12, 20,28; Prov.d. 2, iv.5, 7;
viii. 12, 14; as are 927, and MIA,
another derivative from the same
root.—Tz¥, counsel, (comp. FP", chap. ix.
5,) plan, scheme, purpose, and, by impli-
cation, the faculty of wisely and ad-
visedly laying a foundation for future
action. It is combined with ΤᾺΣ,
might, the power adequate for carry-
ing purposes into execution. Viewed
merely as a physical quality, wisdom
is preferred to it, Eccles. ix. 16; but
regarded as a moral quality they are
equal. In exercise it gives effect to
the decisions of wisdom. ‘The idea of
military prowess is rejected by Gese-
nius and Hengstenberg, as totally un-

suitable to the peaceable character of
the Messiah ; but as he is also repre-
sented in the character of a mighty
warrior, Ps. xlv. 3, 4, ex. 1—3; Isa.
lxiii. 1—6 ; it is not wholly to be ex-
cluded.—nv1, knowledge, equally with
nxy, fear, is in construction with 77.
Both qualities ere so closely related to
each other, that where only one of
them is mentioned the other is under-
stood. By the former is meant a
practical acquaintance with the cha-
racter and will of God; by the latter,
the exercise of all those feelings and
dispositions which right views of the
Divinecharacter and will are calculated
to produce. It is very often put for
the whole of true religion; Job iv. 6,
xv. 4; Ps. xix. 9 (Hebr. 10), cxxviii.1,435
Proy. xiv. 26; and 7zdoc. The charismata
here enumerated are for the most part
similarly classified, Prov. vill. 12—14.

3. wmm the LXX. render ἐμπλήσει
ἀυτὸν πνεῦμα φόβου Θεοῦ; the Vulg.
replebit eum spiritus timoris Domini $
Saad. aay re inspirabit euit, which

Michaelis and others adopt ; but no in-
stance can be adduced in support of
this rendering. Gesenius and Hitzig
translate, His delight shall be, which
gives a good sense, but is lable to the
same objection ; none of the examplés
appealed to being fairly in point.
Besides, it does not so well agree with
the following clauses of the verse, as
that which retains the idea of smelling.

Arab. εὺν captare auram, naribus

attrahere, odorem, preesertim gratum.
Schultens, Comm. in Job xxxix. 25,
where it is said of the war-horse,
many My PTV, he smelleth the battle
from far,’”’ in reference to the instine-
tive sense which he has of its approach.
As none of the senses in animals is
more acute than that of smell, and in
the ruder states of human existence
it is almost incredibly so in man, it
came metaphorically to denote acute-
ness of perception, clear mental apprehen-
sion and intuitive sagacity. Literally

=

CHAP. XI. |

ISAIAH.

105

And he shall not judge by the sight of his eyes,
Nor decide by the hearing of his ears:
4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor,
And decide with equity for the meek of the earth ;
And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth,
And with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

' the passage would read, He shall be
_-guick-scented in reference to the fear of

Jehovah, i.e. Thus richly endowed with
supernatural gifts, he shall not need
to form his judgments respecting
matters of religion, as others do, by
observation or report, but shall possess
an acute and perfect discernment, by
which he shall intuitively perceive
their nature and relations, and give
his decisions accordingly. For the
fulfilment, see Matt. ix. 4, xi. 27, xxii.
18; Mark ii. 8 ; John ii. 24, 25; Rev.
li. 2, 9, 13, 23, &c.—The 1 is used
ἐκβατικῶς, and points out the result
of the conferment of the spiritual
gifts.

4, The parallelisms in this verse are
most complete: each part correspond-
ing to each. Between 020 and m3,
little difference exists ; only the latter,
followed by %, implies carrying the
sentence into execution for the benefit
of those in whose favour it has been
given. Lowth’s version, He shall work
conviction in the meek, even were it
borne out on grammatical principles,
destroys the unity of the sense. In
oy, respect is had more to external
circumstances, or to a state of spiritual
destitution ; in FI8°LY, to disposition
of mind—the result of sanctified
affliction. Comp. Ps. Ixxii. 4, 12, 13;
Is.1xi. 1 ; Zech. x1. 7; of πτωχοί, Luke vi.
20 ; οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεῦματι, Matt. v. 3;
οἱ πρᾳεῖς, Υ. δ ; comp. ΧΙ. ὃ ; James ii. 5.
The attention of our Saviour was
particularly directed to the condition
of the poor, both in spirit and outward
circumstances ; and such chiefly, in
every age, have reaped the glorious
benefits of the Gospel—Houbigant’s
conjecture, that for 02%, rod, we should
read ni, blast, which Lowth adopts,
is to be rejected, not only on the
ground that no such word exists in
the Hebrew language, but also on
account of the adaptation of 12%, rod,

to express, in the usual style of Isaiah,
the severity of the punishment to be
inflicted. Its being referred to the
mouth, ὙΒ 33, is founded on the idea
of the punishment being ordered or
denounced, just as the command to slay
the wicked is, in the other member of
the parallelism, called ynav 1, {6
breath of his lips. Thus also the Arab.

lac , Zaculus, the Kamoos explains by
wal, castigation, and ων» tongue.

Comp. Job xv. 30. The idea of blast,
or wind, is totally foreign to the pas-
sage, as is also that of the preaching
of the Gospel, which some commen-
tators have introduced into it. Comp.
Heb. iv. 12 ; Rev. i. 16, xix. 15, where
the sword, as an instrument of punish-
ment, is likewise spoken of in con-
nexion with the mouth.—f, parallel
with »w, is put by metonymy for ¢he
inhabitants of the earth, and by impli-
cation, the ungodly, as κόσμος frequently
signifies in the N. T.—vv7 is a collec-
tive noun, like 6 dvopos, 2 Thess. ii. 8,
where the words of Isaiah are supposed
to be alluded to. What confirms this
supposition, is the construction put
upon the prophecy in the Targ. : m2
xy Dinar, he will slay the wicked Ar-
milus. This name is given by the
Jews to a notoriously flagitious cha-
racter who, according to the state-
ments of their writers, is to appear
at Rome, and kill Messiah, the son of
Joseph, but is to be himself slain by
Messiah, the son of David. See Bux-
torf. Lex. Chald. iz voc. and Eisen-
menger’s Entdecktes Judenthum, Th.
ii. pp. 705—715. The text in Isaiah
obviously implies, that preeminence
in wickedness should characterise
those on whom, as his enemies, Christ
would execute extreme punishment.
This also is the import of the empha-
tic terms, 6 ἄνθρωπος τῆς ἁμαρτίας, ὁ

106 ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XI.

5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins,
And faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
6 Then shall the wolf dwell with the lamb,
And the leopard lie down with the kid ;
The calf also, and the young lion, and the fatling shall be together,
And a little child shall lead them.

vids τῆς ἀπωλείας, 2 Thess. ii. 3, and
of the whole description contaimed in
the following verses.

5. 772 relates to the claims of justice,
as bearing upon actions; 722x7 to
those of ¢ruth in keeping promises.
The two terms, or their synonymes,
frequently occur together, Deut. xxxii.
4; Ps..cxix. 75, 138; Prov. xii: 17.—
Lowth, misled by the LXX.and other
ancient versions, which frequently
introduce variations where there is
none in the original, alters the second
ny into Wn, Gesenius has shewn, by
a great number of instances, that in
the book of Isaiah the same word is
repeated in the second member of a
parallelism. Symm. has περίζωμα in
both cases. To be girded, denotes
strength and readiness for action. See
chap. v. 27; Job. xxxviii. 3.

6. From this verse to the ninth in-
clusive, the prophet furnishes a de-
scription of the peace and happiness
to be enjoyed under the reign of Mes-
siah, which, for boldness and exquisite
choice of imagery, far surpasses the
sublimest passages in which the clas-
sical poets celebrate the renewal of
the golden age; indeed, nothing can
exceed in beauty the scene here
depicted. Numerous passages δά-
duced by Lowth and Gesenius from
Virgil, Horace, Theocritus, Ferdoosi,
Ibn Onein, as also from the Zenda-
vesta, and the Sibylline Oracles, clearly
establish the fact of the prevalence of
such figurative language ; and render
in the highest degree improbable the
interpretation of Hengstenberg, and
some other expositors, who consider
Isaiah to be literally predicting an
entire change in the nature of the
brute creation, and its restoration to
its primeval state before the fall. Of
the different passages that occur in
heathen poets, the most apposite is
that of Claudian :—

“Securum blandi leporem fovere mo-
lossi
Vicinumquelupo prebuitagna latus.
Concordes varia ludunt cum tigride
dame
Marsalam cervi non timuere jubam.”
Prol. 11. de Rapt. Proserp.

By the animals specified are meant
persons reserabling them in their
natural dispositions and habits; and
by their living and feeding together
in peace and harmony is adumbrated
that state of true union, fellowship,
and peace, which those enjoy who
submit to the reign of the Redeemer,
and conform to the laws of his king-
dom. To look for the accomplishment
of the prophecy in the experience and
conduct of such as possess merely the
name of Christians, or to refer its ful-
filment to some future day, because so
many wars, bickerings, and conten-
tions, have hitherto more or less
obtained among nations or commu-
nities professedly Christian, would be
to torture the passage in order to
make it speak a language foreign to
its spirit and design. It has been
verified in every age, in proportion to
the extent in which genuine Christi-
anity has exerted its influence. Cha-
racters the most ferocious have been
subdued; and those who had been
living in malice and envy, hateful and
hating one another, have “ put en as
the elect of God, holy and beloved,
bowels of mercies, kindness, humble-
ness of mind, meekness, long-suffering,
forbearing one another, and forgiving
one another,” Col. iii. 12,13. For the
exhibition of contrary tempers and
dispositions, the religion of the Son of
God is in nowise answerable. So far
as any indulge in them, they afford
melancholy evidence, that they are
influenced by principles uncongenial
with the spirit of the Divine kingdom.

CHAP. XI.]

ISAIAH.

107

7 The heifer also, and the she-bear shall feed ;

Their young ones shall lie down together ;

And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 Yea, the suckling shall play at the hole of the asp;

And the weanling shall lay his hand on the den of the basilisk.
9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain;

For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah,

As the waters cover the sea.

10 And it shall come to pass in that day,

—The Ὑ in 1} connects in point of
time, what follows with the preceding
context. There is a singular beauty
in the manner in which the young lion
is introduced into the group between
the calf and the futling. ὙΠ is em-
phatic.

7, 8. 315 an epicenic noun.— 17? is
understood after 4ry17, and would
have been expressed, but for its form-
ing the first word of the following
clause.—ruvy, the Pilp. of yyw, to
stroke, to rub gently with the hand; then
as here, generally, ¢o caress, play
with the hand, find delight in thus play-

ing.—p2, Arab. Ba Coluber Beten, an

asp, or kind of serpent, whose poison
kills almost instantaneously; in all
probability, the species found by Has-
selquist on the island of Cyprus, and
called dom by the modern Greeks.
It is seldom more than a foot in
length, but in thickness resembles
the arm of a man. Bochart, tom. iii.
Ῥ. 380, &c. ; Michaelis, Supplem. No,
2100. The Greek Πύθων, Python, is
doubtless a derivative from this root.
--ἰ τυ Ὁ, ὦ light-hole, or hole for the ad-
mission of light, from ix, dight— 753,
Aq. βασιλίσκος, Vulg. regulus, the
basilisk; according to Michaelis, the
Cerast or horned serpent—a small
viper, little more than a foot in length;
so called from the feelers which are
protruded from its head, while it lies
hid in the sand. It is exceedingly
venomous. Comp. chap. lix. 5; Jer.
viii. 17 ; Prov. xxiii. 32; and Is. xiv.
29, where the cognate ΘῈΣ occurs. In
most of these passages, U2 is used
along with it.—79, a ἅπαξ Ney. Arab.

uss to lead or shew the way, by point-

ing with the hand; hence in Heb. ¢o
stretch forth the hand.

9. What was obviously implied in the
preceding description is now expressly
stated, and the cause of the wonderful
change specified : the extension of the
knowledge of Jehovah. This latter
circumstance further shews that the
language of the description is figura-
tive. From the correlative terms,
OT? W752 and jw, it is manifest, the
latter cannot be interpreted of the
land of Canaan, but must be taken in
its full latitude of signification. LXX.
ἡ σύμπασα. Kimchi himself felt that
by mountain, more was meant than the
literal Zion, and he accordingly ex-
plains it of the whole land of Israel;
but the phrase here employed denotes,
in reference to the period of the New
Covenant, the Church of God as exist-
ing throughout the earth; the locality,
so to speak, in which the scene just
described should be realized. See
chap. ii. 3; Ps. lxxxvii. 1 ; Is. lvi. 7.—
Mmny WI is equivalent to my ny7,
As an Infinitive, it more definitely
marks the subjective nature of the
knowledge intended, and the activity
of mind with which it is cherished.
Comp. for the form, Hab. iii. 13 ; and
for the sense, Jer. ix. 24, xxxi. 34;
Dan. xii. 4; John xvii. 3; 2 Pet. i. 2,
3.—Dd, the sea, by metonymy for the
bed of the sea; ὃ very expressive
figure, denoting not only that no por-
tion of the inhabited globe shall be
destitute of the true knowledge of
God, but that this knowledge shall
be extensive and profound.

10. The benefits of Messiah’s reign
were not to be restricted to the Jews,
but to be extended among the Gen-
tiles, by whom they would be em-

108 ISATAH.

That to the Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the

people,
Shall the nations repair ;

And the place of his rest shall be glorious.
11 And it shall come to pass in that day,
That Jehovah shall stretch forth his hand the second time,

braced, and their glorious results
exhibited.» and 0%3 are not here
identical as to subject. By the former,
the ¢ribes of God’s ancient people are
meant; by the latter, the zations that
had been strangers from the common-
wealth of Israel. That the plural, as
well as the singular form of ody, has
this restrictive acceptation, see chap.
ili. 13, and the passages there referred
to. For the contrast, comp. chap.
xlix. 6; Luke xxiv. 47; John x. 16;
Acts iii. 25, 26.—% ww, the Nomin.
absol.— aw, Root, is here equivalent
to ὙΠ and 182, ver. 1, denoting, not
that which strikes downward into the
ground, but that which sprouts up or
springs from the root, comp. Is. liii. 2 ;
Rey. v. 5, xxii. 16.—03, a signal of
rendezvous, see chap. v. 26.—>8 01,
signifies to go or repair to for advice,
protection, and assistance. See chap.
viii. 19. It is never used in reference
to application to men for aid; but
always respects religious application,
either to the true God, to an idol sup-
posed to be a god, or to those who
pretended to give the responses of
false deities. According to the uni-
form doctrine of Scripture, Jehovah
alone is the legitimate object of such
application: so that the present use
of the phrase identifies the Messiah
with Jehovah. The meaning of the
prophet is, that the heathen would
turn away from every idol and every
false ground of confidence, and apply
to the Messiah alone for salvation.
The version of the LXX. ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ
ἔθνη ἐλπιοῦσι, gives the sense, and is
therefore quoted by Paul, Rom. xv. 12,
in proof of the doctrine, that the
Gentiles were to be converted to
Christ.—22 ingy2 AMM, lit. and the
place of his rest shall be glory; but the
substantive, 733, stands adjectively
for glorious,—an idiom not uncommon
in Hebrew, The pronominal reference

in in) is BW, personally considered.
mm denotes not merely rest, quiet,
tranquillity, but also the locality in
which such rest is enjoyed, see Numb.
x. 33; Ps. exxxii. 14, where the term
is synonymous with 2019, dwelling, or
habitation, ver.13. Prefixed as forma-
tive of verbal nouns, Ὁ very frequently
expresses the place where the import
of the verb is realized, as Ν 2, 1279,
xzia, m1, &e. The place of Messiah’s
rest is his Church, those among whom
he dwells, and to whom he vouchsafes
the experience of his presence, Matt.
xviii. 20. Michaelis points the word,
inqy2, which is found in one of De
Rossi’s MSS., and has been in another
originally, and renders, Ais gifts > wn-
derstanding thereby the presents that
should be brought to him; but the
other interpretation is best supported.
Jerome’s translation : e¢ erit sepulcrum
ejus gloriosum, which he certainly did
not adopt from his Jewish teacher, is
founded on a complete misconception
of the meaning of the passage, but
has furnished a famous text from
which to expatiate on the merits of
going on pilgrimage to what is called
the Holy Sepulchre.—With respect to
the glorious condition of the Church,
at the period here referred to, see
chap. iv. 5.

11. The commencement of a distinct
prophecy relative to the restoration
of the Jews. Isaiah, having in pro-
phetic vision contemplated the future
Deliverer, and the wide extension of
the glorious blessings of his reign, has
his thoughts directed to other events
that were closely connected with the
period which he had just described,
but were to precede it, and conse-
quently, interposed between it and
that at which he lived. Previous to
the appearance of the Messiah, the
Jews were to be carried into captivity,
not only into Babylon, but also into

[CHAP. XI.

CHAP. XI.]

ISATAH.

109

To recover the remnant of his people, that remaineth,
From Assyria and from Egypt,

other countries, and their land was to
be left in a state of desolation. But
in order that they might be in a con-
dition either to receive or reject him,
agreeably to ancient prophecy, it was
necessary that they should again in-
habit Judea ; that their temple should
be rebuilt ; and their ecclesiastical
polity re-established. That it is this,
and not any restoration still future,
the prophet here describes appears:
First, because such is the more natural
construction of the passage, and is
unencumbered with any of the diffi-
culties which necessarily clog the
other interpretations: Secondly, be-
cause not only have Ephraim and Judah
amalgamated, but all hostility between
the tribes has long since ceased:
Thirdly, becausethe nationsmentioned
in the prophecy no longer exist; and
to expound them allegorically, or to
subject to such a mode of exposition
the entire prediction, is utterly at
variance with sound and consistent
principles of prophetical exegesis.

To the proposed interpretation no
valid objection can be derived from
the formula x77 O13, [nz that day; since
it is often used with great latitude of
meaning. As employed in ver. 10, it
is not to be restricted to the con-
cluding words of the previous pro-
phecy, but must be understood as
connecting with ver. 1, and thus mark-
ing a period which was to succeed the
Assyrian catastrophe. Jn or during
this period, the predicted restoration
was to be effectedBefore 1” supply
τύ πὴ} signifies to set upright ; to
raise from circumstances of captivity
or depression ; fo redeem, and so bring
the persons thus liberated into a
peculiar relation to their deliverer,
whom they are bound to love and
serve.—™2, the second time, is not
connected with 722, to recover, but
with 11 18, ¢o stretch forth his hand ;
and refers not to any previous recovery
of the Hebrews from the various
countries here specified, but to the
illustrious deliverance of their an-
cestors from Egypt in the time of
Moses. To this event 732 is applied,

Exod. xv. 16; Deut. xxxii. 6, and
freq. Comp. ver. 16.— x, Assyria, and
D0, Lgypt, are first mentioned be-
cause they were the most powerful
states known to the Jews; and perhaps
also because the greatest number of
captives would be found within their
geographical boundaries. From the
former of these countries the de-
scendants both of Israel and Judah
returned under Cyrus. Many have,
indeed, endeavoured to shew, that
only those of the latter were restored,
and that the ten tribes still separately
exist somewhere on the face of the
globe: but their attempts have failed,
as every attempt must that would
contravene the meaning of such scrip-
tures as the following: Jer. xxxi. 31
—34, compared with Heb. viii. 6—13,
Xxxill. 7—16; Ezek. xxxvii. 11—28.
Into Egypt the Jews were first carried
as slaves in the reign of Rehoboam,
2 Chron. xii. 8; others no doubt ac-
companied Jehoahaz when conveyed
thither by Pharaoh-Necho, 2 Chron.
xxxvi. 4; great numbers fled thither
after the invasion by Nebuchadnezzar,
2 Kings xxv. 26 ; Jer. xli. 16, xliv. 1;
and in the time of the Ptolemies many
thousands were resident there, either
as slaves, or in a state of voluntary
exile, sometimes well treated, and
sometimes treated with the utmost
cruelty. After the establishment of
Jewish independence, B.c. 143, and
especially during the civil commotions
which ensued in Egypt, many of them
embraced the opportunity afforded
them to return to Palestine ; and to
this period we are to refer the ful-
filment of the prediction in the text —
bine, Pathros, follows after Egypt,
being the southern or upper part of
that country, called by the Greeks and
Romans Thebais, and by the Arabs

δάσο, Said. The name in the native

Coptic is TIEGO¥ PHC, Pethoures,

or without the article, ΘΟ PHC;

Thoures, “the South” The LXX.
have here Βαβυλωνία; but in Jer.

ἂν

110

ΙΒΑΤΙΑΗ.

[CHAP.

And from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam,
And from Shinar, and from Hamath,
And from the regions of the sea.
12 Yea, he shall raise a banner to the nations,
And shall gather the outcasts of Israel,

xliv. 1, Παθοῦρης, and Ezek. xxix. 14,
Παθωρῆς, in both of which the original
word is preserved. It was the primi-
tive country of the Egyptians, Ezek.
xxix. 14, and is mentioned as distinct
from Egypt by Greek and Roman
writers, as it is by Isaiah and Jeremiah.
In the Genealogical Table of nations,
Gen. x., under the Mitzraim division
of the Hamites, are DO NB, by whom
are meant the inhabitants of the
same territory.—3, Cush, or Ethiopia,

Ambar. Tiff: lay to the south of

Pathros, and, according to Diod. Sic.
111. 3, was peopled from the latter
country—see on chap. xvill. 1; and
partly on the east side of the Red
Sea. It appears to be employed here
in its most comprehensive acceptation.
The Targum has 117, Hodu, “ India,”
which embraced the southern and
eastern parts of Arabia, and, as it
would seem, anciently stretched across
towards the Caspian Sea, in the neigh-
bourhood of which we find a Cusf,
Gen. 11.13. Comp. the prop. name of
Cushan Rishathaim, a king of Mesopo-
tamia, Judg. 111. 8, 10, and Cuth, Cuthah,
2 Kings xvii. 24, 30.—Next to the
Oriental Cush, Isaiah takes up the
adjacent country of Ory, Ham, or
Elymais, which was properly a pro-
vince of Persia, lying along the Persian
Gulf, but most probably including
here Susiana, if not the whole of
Persia, since we find it mentioned by
the prophets in connexion with Baby-
lonia, Assyria, and Media.—To the
west of Elam lay w2, Shinar, which
comprehended Babylonia and Mesopo-
tamia, and thus connected Elam and
Assyria, already mentioned, with nn,
Hamath, the last of the countries
specifically named. For this country,
see chap. x. 9.—D°7 "x, and frequently
Dex, not strictly or exclusively islands,
but maritime regions, whether islands,
sea-coasts, or countries circumscribed,
or bounded by the sea. In some

instances the term has necessarily the
former signification, as Esth. x.1; Jer.
xlvii. 4; but most frequently it is
employed to denote the maritime
countries situated on the Mediter-
ranean, including Greece, Italy, and
other regions in the remote west from
Palestine, Gen. x. 5; Ps. lxxii. 10; Is.
xxiv. 15, xli. 5; Jer. xxv. 22. The

word is derived from ™x, Arab. uss! :

to dwell, lodge, costes dwelling, habita-

tion. Comp. m2 ™3, the same.—
Owing to the proximity of most of
the countries specified by the prophet,
it is extremely probable that the Jews
who were carried away captive, would
be sold as slaves from one to another
of them, or become subject to future
migrations, according as the inhabit-
ants were disturbed by hostile in-
vasions. ΑΒ it respects the west, we
learn from Joel iii. 4—6, that the
Pheenicians sold them to the Greeks ;
and to this slave trade further refer-
ence is distinctly made, Ezek. xvii. 13.
During the Macedonian and Roman
conquests, Divine Providence opened
a way for the return of the Jews in
the west to their own land ; and the
close relations in which their state
afterwards stood to Rome still more
favoured such return. Comp. Zech.
x. 9—12.

12, 039 Ὁ2 XD) isnot to be explained
by 02? 129, ver. 10, but by the use of
the identical phrase, chap. v. 26, where
it is employed in its military import
of summoning armies to certain points
ofattack. While the different nations
were engaged in mutual conflict, God
would afford his people opportunities
of making their escape. This verse
only expresses in different language
the prediction contained in the pre-
ceding. The repetition indicates
certainty. O17) and niz2, though of
different genders, are not intended to
mark the male and female portion of

CHAP. ΧΙ.]}

ISATAH,

111

And collect the dispersed of Judah,
From the four extremities of the earth.
13 Then shall the jealousy of Ephraim depart,
And the hostile in Judah be cut off ;
Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah,
And Judah shall not be hostile to Ephraim.
14 But they shall pounce upon the shoulders of the Philistines on

the west;

Together shall they plunder the sons of the east ;

the population, but merely express
totality. Jsrael and Judah are used
distinctively of the descendants of
those who composed the two king-
doms.—ni523, lit. wings, but as the

Arab. Wi 9 signifies fo surround,
bound, and 33S ; KAS > Latus, and

tractus rei ; Plaga regionis ; it 1s evi-
dently employed to express the idea
of boundaries, or extreme and distant
regions. Comp. Job xxxvil. 3, Xxxviil.
13, and Ezek. vii. 2, in which last
passage and the present, the numeral
Dax, four, is applied to the cardinal
points whence come the four winds,
Ezek. xxxvil. 9; Matt. xxiv. 31; and
to which correspond ai τέσσαρες γωνίαι
τῆς γῆς, Rev. vil. 1, xx, 8.

13. THT YS is the genitive of pos-
session, not of object; and the mean-
ing is, “those iz Judah,” or “those
Jews, who are hostile to Ephraim.”
There is thus a complete correspond-
ence between the two members of
the parallelism, which ig destroyed by
the common mode of rendering the
words. Comp. for similar instances
of this mode of construction, 078 ‘73,
Hos, xiii. 2; Die 228, Isa. xxix. 19 ;
Gesen. Lehrg. p. 678; and for the
sentiment, Ezek. xxxvii. 15—19. The
two names of Zphraim and Judah
stand, as in ver. 12, for the descend-
ants of the ten tribes and the two
tribes and a half respectively. From
the time of the revolt a perpetual
hatred and jealousy existed between
these divisions; but on the return
from the various captivities, they
entirely ceased, and the tribal dis-
tinction having since become entirely

extinct, their revival is rendered im-
possible.

14, AND, Arab. nS > humerus, pro-

perly a shoulder, but here used geogra-
phically to denote the gradual rising
or upper part of a country; or the
heights and elevations along a sea
coast. Comp. Numb. xxxiv. 11; Josh.
xv. 8, 10, 11; where one of these
heights is called JPY 793, “the shoulder
of Ekron.” Saadias renders the word

by 1b] , regions. For the Philistines,

see chap. xiv. 29. These regions of
the Philistines the recovered Hebrews
would attack with the velocity with
which a ravenous bird darts on its
prey. Comp. Hab. i. 8—o77 2, the
sons of the East, i. e. the inhabitants of
Arabia Deserta, which stretched along
the east of Palestine, and was, as it
still is, inhabited by Bedoweens

( kal!) or Nomades, who lived in

tents, hence called Σκηνῆται, Scenites,
and wandered over that large extent
of country, according as pasturage was
required for their cattle. Job i. 3.
They often made predatory incursions
into the adjacent countries, especially
into Palestine, to the great annoyance
of the inhabitants. See Judg. vi. 3;
Job i. 15,17; Jer. xlix. 28, 29 ; Ezek.
xxv. 4. For Edom, see chap. xxx1v, ;
and for Moab, chap. xv.—o7 1789, lit.
a sending or putting forth of their hand,
but meaning, “the object of their at-
tack.” —jray 23, the sons of Ammon, 1.6,
the Ammonites, were descended from
Lot, Gen. xix. 38, and inhabited the
tract of country between the Jabbok
and the Arnon, and extending a con-

112

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XI,

Edom and Moab shall be the object of their attack ;
And the sons of Ammon shall obey them.
15 Then shall Jehovah utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian

sea,

And shake his hand at the river, with his terrible wind,
And smite it into seven streams,
And cause them to go over dryshod.

siderable way into Arabia. Rabbath, or
Rabbath-Ammon, their capital city,
afterwards called Philadelphia, and
now Amman, was situated near the
‘source of the Arnon. They were not
attacked by the Hebrews on their way
to Palestine ; but they ill repaid this
indulgence by afterwards engaging in
numerous hostile enterprises against
them, on which account they were
visited with Divine judgments, Ezek.
xxv. 3, 10.—onynwn, their obedience,
abstr. for coner. their subjects, i. 6. sub-
ject to them. Root 2%, to hear, hearken
so as to obey, to obey. 'The prophecy
was fulfilled, as it regards the Philis-
tines, when, after the persecution of
Antiochus Epiphanes, the Asmoneans
subjected several of their cities, and
Jonathan acquired the government of
the whole coast from Tyre to Egypt.
Diod. Sic. Frag. xxxii. 16; Joseph.
Antiq. xiii. 4. (4) ; 1 Macc. x. 69—89 ;
and it received its accomplishment
with respect to the other nations
specified in this verse, in the time of
Judas Maccabeeus, 1 Macc. v. 6—45,
and Alexander Janneus, Joseph. Antiq.
xiii. 13, (5) ; 14, &c. Jahn’s Heb. Com-
mon. § 106.

15. om, LXX. ἐρημώσει, Targ. BB,
—as if they had read 79, fo eccicate;
but Aq, Symm., and Theod., dvade-
ματίσει, shall curse, or devote to de-
struction, which is one of the signi-
fications of the verb, The primary

idea of DIN

“τὸ

Arab. a> prohibuit, pri-

vatus fuit re; is to shut up, separate
Jrom common use; hence, in Hiphil, ¢o
consecrate, devote, devote to destruction,

destroy utterly, Corp. the Arab. arm
v. vill. perdidit, omnino perdidit, extir-
pavit gentem, It is frequently used

with respect to the entire destruction
of the Canaanitish cities by the

Hebrews.— ji, a tongue ; geographi-
cally, like the Arab. oes a bay or

gulf, from its resemblance to that
member of the body ; just as, for the
same reason, we speak of a tongue of
land. Comp. Josh. xv. 2, 5, xviii. 19.
-- ΟΞ Ὁ, otherwise called "Om, the
sea of weeds, is the Red Sea, or Arabian

Gulf, now called by the Arabs, =
Adil, Bahr-el-Kolzum, and celebrated

in the history of the Israelites, on
account of their miraculous passage
through its western or Herodpolitan
branch. To that event allusion is
here made ; but the language of the
prophet being figurative, it is obvious
we are not to understand him as
pointing to any similar desiccation of
the sea, but as predicting the removal
of the most formidable barrier, which
might lie in the way of the return of
the Jews from Egypt. The destruction,
which was begun by Nebuchadnezzar,
was carried forward by the Persians ;
by the Greeks under Alexander ; and
was completed by the Romans after
the battle of Actium, B.c. 30. Egypt
then ceased to be an independent
state—T "27, see chap. x. 32.—B

120, the River, some understand the
Nile ; but the appropriation of this
term in common usage, to denote the
Euphrates, decides in favour of the
latter river.—inn Ova, LXX. ἐν πνεύ-
ματι βιαίῳ, Vulg. in fortitudine spiritus

ar oo Νὰ

sui. Syriac, Mand} 9 13 pac l> by the
strength of his wind. ὋΝ isa ἅπαξ dey.
which some consider to be cognate
with the Arab. ,lc, med. Je. sitivit ;
but the preferable derivation is that

of Abulwalid, who compares it with
DN, /o be terrible: the Y and the δὶ being

ry

CHAP. XII.]

ISATAH.

113

16 And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people,
Which shall remain—from Assyria—

As there was unto Israel,

In the day when he came up from the land of Egypt.

interchanged. This interpretation Ge-

senius and Rosenmiiller approve.— :°

DT AID seven streams, i.e. completely
into rivulets or torrents, and so dry
up the Euphrates; the number seven
being employed to express perfection
or completeness. The appropriateness
of the figure lies in the multitude of
canals into which the Euphrates was
divided ; and the meaning is, that the
Babylonian power should be destroyed
in order that the Jewish captives
might return to their own land,
Compare Rev. xvi. 12, where the same
symbol is employed to denote the
destruction of the Turkish power.
The story related by Herodotus, that

Cyrus caused the Gyndes, a river
which falls into the Tigris, to be
diverted into three hundred and sixty
canals, and thus completely drained
off its waters, though noticeable, has
no real bearing upon the prophecy.

16. The greatest number of the He-
brews being in Babylon and the coun-
tries about the Euphrates, the prophet
concludes his description of the de-
liverance, by comparing the facilities
afforded for their return to 7D, a
causey, or road, raised and properly
made, so as to afford every conve-
nience for public passage. For the
fulfilment, see the books of Ezra and
Nehemiah.

--.-----

CHAPTER XII.

This chapter contains a hymn: of praise to be sung by the church on her

restoration from captivity.

It recognises the power and goodness of Jeho-

vah, 1,2; the means of grace to be enjoyed under the new dispensation,
3; the announcement of the Divine character and works to the Gentiles,
4,5; and the special obligations of the Jews to gratitude and praise, 6. That
this triumphal ode was suggested by that which Moses composed on
occasion of the deliverance at the Red Sea, appears certain, from its close
connexion with the concluding words of the previous chapter, and from the
circumstance, that part of that song is expressly adopted, ver, 2,

1 ΑΝΡ in that day thou shalt say:

I will praise thee, O Jehovah.

Though thou hast been angry with me,
Thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortest me.
2 Behold! God is my salvation ;

1. The Divine anger had been
poured out upon the Hebrews during
their banishment, but, on their resto-
ration, gave place to favour and con-
solation, -Comp., chap. xl, 1, 2.

2. ™ nyo Ἢ occurs precisely as
here, Exod. xv. 2, and Ps. exviii. 14 ;
as do also the following words, with
the exception of m7; and there can
be no doubt, that both in the Psalm

114 ISATAH.

I will trust, and not be afraid:

[CHAP,. XII.

For Jah [Jehovah] is my glory and song;
He has even become my salvation.
3 And ye shall draw water with joy from the fountains of salva-

tion.
4 And ye shall say in that day :
Praise Jehovah; celebrate his

and in Isaiah, they are borrowed from
the Mosaic ode. n}21is properly the
construct of 773, only retaining the
Kametz, as in nny, mom, &c.; and
would have been expressed in full,
οι, but for the ’ in ™ following, with
which it might easily have coalesced
so as to form ™n73, which is indeed
the reading of three MSS. One MS.
reads NY}; two, and perhaps a third,
with ten Samaritan MSS. exhibit it,
Exod. xv. 2; and one, Ps. exvili. 14 ;
and this is the reading of all the ver-
sions in the present instance.—™,
JAH, one of the peculiar names given
to the Divine Being in the O. T., espe-
cially in the Psalms. Cocceius and
others derive it from 7%, to be comely,
beautiful, excellent; but that it is an
abbreviated ferm of the Tetragram-
maton im seems certain from its
varying with 17, (another abbreviated
form of the same name,) at the end
of compound proper names, as TY
and wrt; only, in such cases, the
Mappik is dropped. It also occurs in
the formula 777, rendered by Theod.
αἰνεῖτε τὸ ὄν. Some have considered
it to be of Egyptian origin, and to
correspond to ’Iaé, a8 occurring in
some ancient writers; but Prof. Tho-
luck has convincingly shewn, Bib.
Repos. Jan. 1834, that in the authors
referred to, the God of the Jews, and
not any Egyptian deity, is the subject
of discourse, and that there is no proof
that the word Jao ever existed in the
Egyptian language.—The word is want-
ing in two MSS.; and 7\7 is omitted
in eleven, originally in nine more, in
two copies of the earliest printed
Machzor, in two MSS. of the Targum ;
and has nothing corresponding to it
in the ancient versions. On these
grounds, and as it does not occur in
Exod. and the Ps., it is supposed to be

name ;

an interpolation from chap. xxvi. 4.
It is, however, worthy of notice, that
while Procopius places ΠῚΠῚ on the
left margin of the text, he has on the
right, Π ta κύριος, which probably
stands for πάντες ta Κύριος, and in-
dicates that all the MSS. consulted by
Origen read JAH JEHOVAH.

3. Whatever reference there is in
this hymn to the temporal salvation
which the Jews experienced, it cannot
be doubted, that it was designed to
excite in their minds an ardent desire
after the greater deliverance to be
wrought out by the Messiah. In this
verse, the prophet interrupts the song
in order to announce the happiness of
those who should avail themselves of
the privileges of the New Dispensa-
tion. These privileges, and the bless-
ings which they are intended to
secure, are termed 7ywT ‘py, foun-
tains of salvation. It is not at all
improbable that there is here an
allusion to the water miraculously
supplied to the Israelites in the wil-
derness ; which event was afterwards
celebrated with great pomp, by golden
vessels full of water being brought to
the temple from the pool of Siloam,
on the last day of the Feast of Taber-
nacles. The blessings of salvation
are frequently compared to “ water,”
“ living water,” or “the water of life ;”
Is. lv. 1; John iv. 10; Rev. xxii. 1, 17;
on which account, our Saviour, on
occasion of the festival just referred
to, ‘“‘stood and cried, saying, If any
man thirst, let him come unto me,
and drink,” John vii.37. See Bloom-
field on the passage.

4, DWI ΝῊ not only signifies fo call
upon, invoke the name of, but also, to
laud or celebrate, give celebrity to any
one by publishing his deeds, Ps. xlix.
12; Is. xliv. 5. The most of this

CHAP. ΣῈ: ISAIAH. 115

Make known his deeds among the people ;
Announce that his name is exalted!
5 Sing to Jehovah, for he hath done a splendid deed ;
It is made known through all the earth.
6 Cry aloud, and shout, O inhabitress of Zion!
For great in the midst of thee is the Holy One of Israel.

verse is found verbatim in 1 Chron. has nvr, the Part. of Hoph. The
xvi. 8; Ps. cv. 1. sense is the same ; and the connexion

5. The Chethib, nv», pointed, ny, requires the word to be understood
would be the Pual Part.; but the Keri optatively.

~

CHAPTER XIII.—XIV. 23.

Chapter xili.—xiv. 23, contains an entire prophecy respecting the destruction
of Babylon by the Medes and Persians, which forms the first of a series of
special predictions directed against foreign nations. So particular is this
prophecy, and so exactly do its specifications tally with the circumstances
connected with the fall of the Chaldean monarchy, that Rosenmiiller, Eich-
horn, Bertholdt, Gesenius, Hitzig, and others, maintain it to be the pro-
duction of some writer who lived during the captivity, when the hostility
of the Medes, and the splendid successes of Cyrus, inspired the Jews with
a conviction that their oppressor would soon be subdued; or, who lived
after the return from Babylon, and, consequently, wrote after the events had
taken place. It must, however, be evident to every one who coolly peruses
what they have severally written in defence of these hypotheses, that their
views are principally to be traced to disbelief of prophetic inspiration.
They reason entirely κατ᾽ ἄνθρωπον. Because human sagacity could not by
any possibility have anticipated, by nearly two hundred years, the par-
ticular events in question, it follows, according to them, that the author
must have flourished about the time they took place, if not indeed after
they had happened. But who does not perceive the total repugnance of
such a mode of argumentation to the doctrine of the Bible, relative to the
supernatural influence which Isaiah and the other prophets enjoyed? The
objections derived from supposed peculiarity of style, trains of ideas, &c.
are trifling, and have for the most part been satisfactorily removed by
Uhland, “ Vaticinium Jesaiz, cap. xiii. de excidio urbis et regni Babylonici,
Jesaice prophet vindicatum.’”’ Tubing. 1798, 4to; Jahn in his Intro-
duction ; Beckhaus in a work entitled, Ueber die Integritit der Prophe-
tischen Schriften des Alten Bundes, Halle, 1796. The remarks of Michaelis,
who lived to witness the commencement of the infidel attacks that have

116 ISATAH. [CHAP. XIII.

been made upon this portion of the book of Isaiah, are too valuable to be
omitted in this place. Adverting to the views just noticed, he observes :—
Those who have read Isaiah in Hebrew will not easily entertain such ideas,
His style is so elegant, so magnificent, and so different from anything
written about the time of the termination of the Babylonish captivity ; it
is likewise so exempt from foreign words, which we so frequently meet
with in the later writers; that to suppose his prophecies respecting
Babylon to have been concocted in the first year of Cyrus must appear just
as improbable as the hypothesis of Harduin, which he could not prevail
upon the world to adopt, that the most beautiful of the Odes of Horace
were the productions of barbarous monks in the Middle Ages. In the
Babylonish captivity the grace and magnificence of the Hebrew language
were entirely lost ; even Ezekiel, who lived during the captivity on the
Chaboras, cannot be called graceful, any more than the courtier Daniel.
Besides, in the former we discover a number of Chaldzisms in grammar ;
and in the latter, foreign terms which never occur before his time. Ezra and
Nehemiah wrote Hebrew ina style still vastly inferior ; while of the prophets
Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, there is not one who, in point of style, has
the power of pleasing, notwithstanding the beautiful imagery which occurs
in Zechariah. The prophecies of Isaiah, on the contrary, are, next to Job
and the odes of Moses, the most splendid Hebrew monuments in existence ;
they far surpass Jeremiah, the latest good writer which the Hebrews in-
herited from happier times, and who lived during the captivity—a quality
which is more obvious on perusing the original than it can possibly be made
by any translation. Besides, the prophecies of Isaiah against Babylon are
completely in the style of his other prophecies,—all of which it will not be
maintained are supposititious,—and, indeed, may be said to form, with little
abatement, the most splendid portions of his book. Another consideration
must be taken into the account. The prophecy is of such a character that
it could not have been forged in the year in which Cyrus took Babylon; for
though Babylon was conquered, it was not destroyed, but continued to be
a large and powerful city, which once and again rebelled against the
Persians, under Darius Hystaspes, and Xerxes ; was chosen by Alexander
the Great as his residence, and thus would almost have become the capital
of the world, if that monarch had not abandoned himself to intoxication,
to which he fell a victim. But it is predicted in this chapter (Isaiah xiii.)
that the place where Babylon stood should be converted into a complete
desert—a prophecy which received its fulfilment, indeed, but not till after
the birth of Christ ; for it was only by slow degrees that this city reached
the point of degradation to which it is now reduced. Certainly no person who
might have forged a prediction in the first year of Cyrus would have
introduced what we find vers. 19—22. Nor would a deceiver, even at the
time when the Greek translation of Isaiah was executed, have predicted the
complete desolation of Babylon ; for it still stood, though it had diminished
from year to year.” —Deutsche Uebersetzung des Alten Testamentes, mit Anmer-
kungen fiir Ungelehrte.

The prophecy opens with the command of God to assemble the armies

CHAP. XIII. ]

ISATAH.

117

destined to attack Babylon, 2, 3; a description is given of their number,
tumultuous noise, and actual approach, 4, 5 ; the consternation and destruc-
tion which should follow are forcibly portrayed, 6—10 ; and Jehovah him-
self is introduced denouncing the evils which he was to bring upon the city,
and its ultimate and signal desolation, 11—22.

1 THE SENTENCE OF BABYLON, which Isaiah the son of Amoz

saw.

1. kwo. The Targ. Aq., Syr., Je-
rome, and most of the modern versions,
derive this word from x3, in the sense
of bearing a load, and render it onus,
a burden; but Cocceius, Vitringa,
Aurivillius, Michaelis, Rosenmiiller,
Schroeder, Gesenius, Winer, and Hit-
zig, following the LXX., ὅραμα, ὅρασις,
ῥῆμα, λῆμμα, prefer the sense of efatum,
oracle, sentence, frora δ), to raise the
voice, to take up or utter any thing with
the voice, Isa. iii. 7, xlii. 2, 11. This
interpretation is confirmed by the
occurrence of the phrase 711727 Nw,
Zech. ix. 1, xii. 1; Mal. 1. 1; and the
statement 77 xweaT m7, Is. xiv. 28.
What has seemed to favour the former
of these interpretations is the circum-
stance that the term is commonly
used in the titles of prophecies which
are comminatory in their import, as
ix, ae 1) xiv. 26) xv. 1, xvii: 1, xix. 1;
xxi. 1, &c.; and Hengstenberg attempts
to prove that it is never employed,
either by Isaiah, or by any other of
the sacred writers, in a different ac-
ceptation, Christol. Zech. ix. 1; but it
is clear from Proy, xxxi. 1, Zech. xii,
1, that it is also used in a good sense.
As, however, it is undeniably designed
in prophetical inscriptions to convey
the idea of a judicial declaration, the
term sentence appears the best by
which in most instances to render it,
Prov. xxxi. 1 may also be translated,
“ the sentences which his mother taught
him ;” xt. being there used collec-
tively for moral instructions, conveyed
in the shape of sententious and pithy
maxims,— 23, BABEL, BABYLON, some

would derive from the Arab. Cols
ub, Bab Bel, “the Gate” or “Court

of Bel,” and compare the modern

phrase, “Ottoman Porte;” but, ac-
cording to Gen. xi. 9, it is to be referred
to the root 723, ¢o confound, and is a
contracted form of 3323, the second
letter being dropped. See Gesen.
Lehrg. p. 134, 869, and Lex. ἐμ voc.
nionin, It was the celebrated capital
of the Babylonian monarchy, and
situated on the Euphrates, which
divided it into two halves, near to the
present village of Hillah, 32° 28’ N.
latitude. By some its foundation is
ascribed to Nimrod; by others, to
Belus, to Semiramis, and even to
Nebuchadnezzar; but there can be no
doubt that the later monarchs only
enlarged it. All the ancient accounts
concur in supporting the propriety of
the epithet Great, which we find
applied to it, Dan. iv. 30. Bibl. Repos.
vol. vii. p. 364. According to Hero-
dotus, its walls were 480 stadia in
circumference. Pliny and Solinus
give it at sixty Roman miles, which,
reckoning eight stadia to a mile,
amounts to the same. Strabo’s esti-
mate is 385 stadia; that of Diodorus,
taken from Ctesias, 360, which is only
five less than the estimate given by
Clitarchus, who was there with Alex-
ander the Great. Curtius gives it at
368. These different accounts may be
harmonized by supposing the first-
mentioned writers to have included
some outer enclosures of smaller
moment, which the others have omit-
ted. At the very lowest estimate,
however, its size must have been
enormous; and had it been densely
built, its dimensions must have ex-
ceeded all rational belief. But it
appears from the statements of Cur-
tius, and other writers, that the
houses did not join each other, but
that large spaces were left contiguous

Ῥ

118

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XIII.

2 On the bare mountain erect the standard ;

to the walls; while other spaces were
appropriated to immense palaces,
squares, gardens, &c. The walls,
which consisted of burnt brick,
cemented together by asphaltus, are
said to have been 350 feet in height,
and 87 in thickness ; and to have had
250 towers and 100 gates of brass.
Among the most remarkable buildings
was the celebrated tower or temple of
Belus, which is supposed to have been
constructed on the ruins of that at-
tempted to be built 120 years after
the deluge, the remains of which,
according to some, are still visible in

the sre ays Birs Nimrood, described

by modern travellers. It is 2,286 feet
in circumference ; but all that remains
in height, to the summit of the present
tower, is only 235 feet. Babylon was
the seat of science, especially astro-
nomy; the centre of ancient idolatry ;
the storehouse of wealth and magnifi-
cence; and the asylum of all that was
revolting in licentiousness and immo-
rality. It attaimed its highest pitch
of grandeur, soon after the year 8.6.
623, when Nabopolassar destroyed the
Assyrian, and founded the Chaldee-
Babylonian empire. Under Nabonni-
dus, B.c. 5388 or 539, agreeably to the
prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and
Daniel, it was taken, after a siege of
two years, by Cyrus the Mede. In
consequence of a rebellion of the
Babylonians in the fourth or fifth year
of Darius Hystaspes, that monarch
ordered its hundred gates of brass to
be taken away, and its walls to be
lowered by two hundred cubits. 8.6,
477, Xerxes plundered and destroyed
the temple of Belus, and carried away
the golden table and statues, which
Darius had not ventured to touch,
Alexander attempted in vain to restore
the city to its former magnificence.
From its conquest by Seleucus Ni-
canor, B.C. 312, it fell still further
into decay, especially in consequence
of the erection of Seleucia on the
Tigris, which that king made his
residence. In the days of Strabo and
Diodorus Siculus, it was little else
than a desert; and Pausanias, who
flourished in the first half of the

second century, states that in his
time nothing remained but the walls.
In the fourth century these were
partially repaired, in order to render
it a park, in which the Persian Court
might amuse itself in hunting wild
beasts ; since which time little notice
was comparatively taken of it, till
Niebuhr, Rich, Ker Porter, Keppel,
Buckingham, Mignan, and other mo-
dern travellers who visited the region,
furnished detailed accounts, all of
which concur in representing its site
as covered with nothing but heaps
and traces of ruins—the horror of the
surrounding Arabs, and frequented
only by wild beasts, and birds of the
most hateful description. A more
extensive, or a more complete scene of
devastation is nowhere to be seen. As
he proceeded across it to visit the Birs
Nimrood, Sir Robert Ker Porter re-
marks, “ My eyes ranged on all sides,
while crossing this vast barren tract,
which assuredly had of old been
covered, if not by closely compacted
streets, at least with the parks and
gardens attached to distinct mansions
or divisions of this once imperial city ;
but all was withered and gone, and
comparatively level to the very hori-
zon, till the object of my expedition
presented itself, standing alone in the
solitary waste, like the awful figure
of Prophecy herself, pointing to the
fulfilment of her word.”—Tyavels, vol.
11. Ὁ. 306. See Robinson’s Calmet, and
Winer’s Real-Worterbuch, articles,
Babel, Babylon, Babylonia; Universal
Hist. vol. iv. pp. 404—411; Rosen-
miiller’s Biblical Geography, chap. viii.

2.780) ὙΠ A bare mountain was
best adapted for the erection of a
standard, there being no trees to hide
it from the view. ΠΕΣ is the Niph.
participle of 758, fo scrape off, make
naked, remove. Comp. ¥, a bare or
naked hill, Is. xli. 18, xlix. 9. For the
custom here referred to, see chap. v.
26. Such a standard, or ensign, was
designed to attract the attention of
those who were at a distance; to col-
lect troops that were in the immediate
vicinity, the sound of the trumpet
(Pp, for "EW Sp, comp. Jer. iv. 21) and
a sign with the hand were sufficient.

CHAP. XIII.]

ISATAH.

119

Raise the sound to them; wave the hand;
That they may enter the gates of the nobles.

3 I have given charge to my consecrated warriors ;
I have also called my heroes to execute my anger,

My proud exulters !
4 The noise of a multitude on

people ;

—o7) is anticipative, and refers to the
warriors under Cyrus, not named, but
further described ver. 3, and expressly
stated, ver. 17, to be the Medes. For
this idiom, see chap. viii. 21.—The 1
before the Future, after an Imperative
is to be rendered ἐλαί.---- 3) ‘108, the
gates of the nobles, may either signify
the gates of the city, or those of the
palace in which the princes were as-
sembled. The latter is more probably
meant. When the troops of Cyrus
had turned off the waters of the
Euphrates into the large ditch which
he had caused to be dug, and the
Babylonians, in the midst of their
revelry, had neglected to shut the
gates at the entrance and the outlet
of the river, the Persians rushed into
the city; and assembling in vast num-
bers round the royal palace, gave a
shout, which the king of Babylon
mistook for the clamour of the drunken
mob, and ordered his guards to open
the palace gates, when the enemy
entered and put all to the sword,
- Herod, i. 191; Xenoph. Cyroped.
vil. 5.

3. WIND, my consecrated warriors. ΑΒ
WIP signities fo separate, destine, appoint
to any special purpose, hence consecrate ;
the nature of the consecration must
be determined by that of the subject.
When war, as here, is spoken of, the
reference is to the selection of the
troops; not, however, without respect
to the religious rites that were per-
formed upon the occasion, 1 Sam. vii.
5, 6, 9. Comp. Gen. xiv. 14, where
Dy seems to be used in the same
acceptation, 729, from which this
adjective is derived, like Wy signifies
to consecrate, dedicate, as a house, temple,
&e., before using it. In the parallel
-passage, Jer. li. 27, 28, the same verb
is employed, and the subject presented
-withconsiderableamplification. Comp.

the mountains, as that of much

also Jer. xxii. 7; Zeph. i. 7; in which
last passage it is in Hiphil.— x) is
elliptical. The entire phrase would be,
ἜΝ niwy, fo execute my wrath; or ney?
ἘΝ, to execute my fierce wrath; see 1
Sam. xxviii, 18.—mwa ordy, lit. the
evulters of my pride. According to a
common idiom, when of two nouns in
construction, the latter is used adject-
ively, it has affixed to it the possessive
pronoun, which belongs to the former,
as, OW ὙΠ, the mountain of my holiness,
for my holy mountain ; Wor ἸΏ, the fat
of his flesh, for his fat flesh. So here,
mwsa, pride, is to be construed as an
adjective, and the phrase to be ren-
dered, my proud exulters. Comp. ii. 11.
Gesenius thinks 9, which signifies /o
triumph, exult, has a primary reference
to a cry or shout of exultation, like
the Greek ἀλαλάζω. The native inso-
lence of the Persians is roundly as-
serted by Croesus: Πέρσαι φύσιν ἔοντες
ὑβρισταί, Herod. i. 89. Herodotus
likewise describes them as esteeming
themselves vastly superior in all points
to other men: Nopifovres ἑαυτοὺς εἶναι
ἀνθρώπων μακρῷ τὰ πάντα ἀρίστους, 1.
134; and Ammianus, xxiii. 6, charac-
terises them as magnidici—superli.
The LXX. render the words by a term
cognate with that employed by Croesus:
χαίροντες ἅμα καὶ ὑβρίζοντες.

4, 5. The mountains to which the
prophet refers are doubtless the ele-
vated regions from which the warriors
came who served in the Persian army:
such as those of Media, Armenia,
Koordistan, as well as the mountains
of Sanjar in the more immediate
vicinity of Babylon. The description
is truly graphical. First, a tumul-
tuous noise is heard, but not so dis-
tinctly as to discover the cause: then
the appearance of a vast army pre-
sents itself ; the din becomes louder
and louder ; and, at last, the hostile

120

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XIII.

The noise of the tumult of kingdoms, of assembled nations ;
Jehovah of Hosts mustereth the army for battle.

5 They come from a distant land, from the end of heaven,
Jehovah, and the instruments of his indignation,
To destroy the whole of the land.

6 Howl ye, for the day of Jehovah is near!

army is found to be so numerous, that
it appears as if entire kingdoms had
transferred their population, and were
assembled for battle. To crown the
whole, Jehovah is introduced as in-
specting the troops previous to the
engagement. In Jer. li. 27, Γῆ)
WON} 37D UMS, the kingdoms of Ararat,
Minni, and Ashkenaz, are specifically
mentioned ; and in. ver. 28, Ὁ 390,
the kings of the Medes, are noticed as
those which furnished the expedition,
According to Jerome, on Isaiah xxxvii.
38, Ararat was not a mountain, but a
region in the low country of Armenia,
through which the Araxes flowed, and
which was, as it still is, exceedingly
fertile. The mountain commonly called
by that name, on which the ark
rested, lay contiguous on the S. W.
and took its name from the country,
Gen. vill. 4. The kingdom so named,
in all probability, extended as far
north as the river Cyrus, and com-
prised a considerable portion of the
country between the lakes Oormiah
and Van. Minni, the same as Minyas,
a mountainous region to the west of
Ararat, the original kingdom of 4;»-
menia, Which is supposed to be
compounded of 2070, Har-mini, the
mountain-land of Minyas. It included
the whole of the country from the
seas just mentioned, westward to
Mount Taurus, and from the shores of
the Pontus to Mesopotamia on the
south. Ashhkenaz, Bochart places on
the Propontis, in the north-west part
of Asia Minor, on the ground that
there existed in that quarter a lake,
river, and gulf, called Ascanius. Other
places towards the south have also
been named, as have others on the
Tanais and in Bactria; but it was
probably some region bordering on
the Caucasus, and the Black Sea. For
the received Jewish application of the
term to Germany, there is no suffi-

cient foundation. Media compre-
hended the extensive tract of country
lying along the west and south of the
Caspian Sea; and stretching south-
ward along the east of Armenia, com-
prised the provinces now known by
the names of Shirvan, Azerbijan, Ghilan,
Mazanderan, and Irak Ajemi. All
these countries were celebrated for
the number and bravery of their
warriors: Azerbijan alone furnishing,
according to Strabo, ten thousand
horsemen, and forty thousand foot.
By “the kings of the Medes,” in Jere-
miah, are meant the satraps or vice-
roys ruling in the larger divisions of
Media and Persia, who put themselves
at the head of the quota of men which
they severally brought into the field.

When the troops collected from all
these different parts, and those which
Cyrus had brought with him from
Lydia, Cappadocia, and Phrygia, to-
gether with the auxiliaries of Creesus,
are taken into the account, it must be
obvious no description could have
been more appropriate than that
given by Isaiah.—As to sense, JX
pr) and Dw TYP are identical : the
latter, which is otherwise equivalent
to SINT TEP, is added for the sake of
intensive parallelism. The reading,
γα Tz79, found in three MSS. and
originally in another, is in all proba-
bility an imitation of the Targ.—y x
might be regarded as a collective noun,
including all the countries whence the
armies came to attack Babylon; but
as the Medo-Persian forces occupied
the most prominent place, and the
whole was under the command of
Cyrus, the term has a special reference
to Media. Comp. chap. v. 26, xlvi.
11; Jer. 1. 9, 26, 41.) For ‘nz %,
comp. Jer. 1. 25. yox7 2 is the same
as 72m, ver. 11, the Babylonian em-
pire.

6, oo stands for 79, like pou for

CHAP. XIII.]

ISATAH.

121

As a mighty destruction from the Almighty it shall come!
7 Because of this all hands shall be slackened,
And every heart of man shall be dissolved ;
8 And they shall tremble; pangs and sorrows shall seize them ;
As a woman in labour shall they writhe ;
They shall look-at each other with amazement ;
Their faces shall be faces of flames.
9 Behold! the day of Jehovah cometh!
Cruel, with fury, and with burning anger ;
To make the land a desolation,

And exterminate its sinners.

10 For the stars of the heavens, and their constellations,

Shall not emit their light ;

you, 2 Sam. xiv. 19. "τὸ, suggested
by the use of τ, the LXX. render
variously, but most frequently by
Παντοκράτωρ, THE AumicHTy. It is

derived from 77%, Arab. \i, fo be

strong, powerful ; SiS, fortis, strenuus.

According to Exod. vi. 3, it was, com-
bined with δ, the name by which
Jehovah peculiarly made himself
known to the patriarchs. The form
Ἢ is that of an obsolete plural, like
2x, only in the latter word, the Patach
is changed into Kametz, to distinguish
it from the form in which the same
word is used when applied in the
plural to human masters.—The 3
in Wis the Caph veritatis, see chap.
i. 7; and comp. Joel i. 15, where the
same form occurs. ‘12 TW in both
passages form an elegant parono-
masia.

7, 8, contain a description of the
dismay, consternation, and perplexity,
into which the inhabitants of Babylon
should be thrown on the capture of
the city. The metaphors are taken
from the physical effects produced up-
on the human system by fear, alarm,
or pain. Comp. Jer. 1. 43; Josh. vii.
5 Psi πα 14iseiiizel.oxxiy 7-—In
yw, the jis the intensive paragogic,
as in the following verb. The nomi-
native is the Babylonians, understood.
The Hebrews say that a person fakes
hold on fear, or what occasions fear, just
as we say, to take fright ; see Job xviii.

20, xxi. 6 ; as well as fear takes hold on,
Exod. xv. 14, 15; so that, however
the LXX., Syr., and Targ., might be
justified in rendering the phrase agree-
ably to the more common mode of
construction, we should not be war-
ranted to adopt D77N’,—the emenda-
tion proposed by Lowth.—m327) °2,
faces of flames, i.e. red, flushed, the
result of agitation or violent commo-
tion.

9. "HR the same as Wx, erzvel, only
with the’ of excess or intensity.—2P)
ANTM are further expletive of DY, the
nominative to the gerund 013, and to
row following.

10. A fine specimen of the figura-
tive manner in which the Hebrew
prophets depict the horrors of national
calamity. The metaphors of light
and darkness, to express prosperity
and adversity, are quite common ; but
when the effect is to be heightened,
the writer represents the sources of
light as being themselves affected, and
their splendour as either increased or
completely obscured. See Isaiah xxiv.
23, xxxiv. 4; Ezek. xxxii. 7, 8 ; Joel
ἢ. 10, 01.15; Amos viii. 9; Matt.
xxiv. 29.—omos, lit. their Orions, 1. 68.
Orion, and similar constellations, or
remarkable groups of fixed stars, the
science of which appears to be of
great antiquity, since they are dis-
tinctly recognised in Job, the most
ancient book in existence, chap. ix. 9,
“XXXVili. 31. See also Amos v.8. The
name 7D) properly signifies @ fool, an

122

ISAIAH.

[CHAP, XIII.

The sun shall be dark at his going forth,
And the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for its wickedness,
And the wicked for their iniquity.
Yea, I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease,
And lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make men scarcer than gold,

And human beings than the gold of Ophir.

impious person; or, according to an-
other acceptation, confident, insolent,
refractory. In the Persian mythology,
Orion is Vimrod, the founder of Babel,
who was translated from earth to the
position which he now occupies in
the starry heavens. A similar belief
appears to have been popular among
other ancient nations. The name by
which the Arabs designate this con-

stellation is ps the Giant, a title

corresponding to the term 7133, which
we find applied to Nimrod, Gen. x. 8,
9. They also give him Sirius as a
dog for his companion, which fur-
nishes another point of coincidence
with the Scripture account of Nim-
rod’s favourite pursuit. The same
combination occurs also in Greek
writers. Thus, Homer:
ἀρίζηλοι δέ οἱ αὐγαὶ

Φαίνονται πολλοῖσι μετ᾽ ἄστρασι νυκ-

τὸς ἀμολγῷ"
Ὅν τε κύν᾽ ‘Qpiwvos ἐπίκλησιν καλέ-

ovat.” Iliad. x. 27—30.

66.

He is represented as having been
greatly addicted to the chase, a giant
in size, and distinguished for heroic
exploits. On the supposition that
similar ideas obtained among the
Chaldeans, and were from them
adopted by the Hebrews, of which
there is no reason to doubt, the em-
ployment of the term D°7D3, by Isaiah,
was singularly appropriate. See Dr.
Lee on Job ix, 9, and Gesenius on the
present verse. The Targ. has ji»,
their Giants. Jerome’s Jewish precep-
tor gave Arcturus as the signification
of 909.

11. 929, commonly signifies the hali-
table globe, or world, but is here used,

in arestricted sense, of the Babylonian
world, just as οἰκουμένη, the term by
which the LXX. render it, is employed
to denote the Roman empire, orbis
Romanus, Joseph. Antig. xii. 3, 1;
Herod. v. 2, 5; and Palestine, Acts xi.
28. Thus also the Turkish poet

Uweissi uses wl mundus, ἴῃ appli-

cation to the Turkish empire in the
line, phydy)s $ObuS ake dy 3 sees
Ye have, by various innovations, brought
ruin upon the empire. Warning to
Islamboul, p. 6; see also page 12.

12. YIN expresses the extreme pau-
city to which the population would
be reduced ; being used in the sense
of rare, scarce, and not in that of valu-
able, given in our common version.
No interpretation can be more false
than that which supposes the passage
to refer either to Cyrus or to Christ ;
or, as some others would have it, to
the Jews in Babylon. That of Grotius
is also forced; viz. that the Medes
would not for money be induced to
spare any one.—%8, and 03, are fre-
quently used of the purest or best
gold. The former is derived from 18,
found only in Hoph. 1 Kings x. 18,
but according to the reading 179 3m,
2 Chron, ix. 17, it signifies pure or

purified gold. Comp. Arab. 2.48, to

separate. OD3 properly signifies hidden
gold, gold which is so pure, that it is
laid up in a secure place, on account
of its value. Comp. 10D 133, 1 Kings
vi. 20,21. In the present place the
idea intended to be conveyed by both
terms is that of extreme rarity.—The
relative position of YIN and VpixX, and
the occurrence elsewhere of the com-
bination V5 ὉΠ, sufficiently shew,

CHAP. XIII. |

ISAIAH.

123

13 Because I will cause the heavens to tremble,
And the earth shall be shaken out of her place ;
In the fury of Jehovah of Hosts,
And in the day of his burning anger.

14 And they shall be like a chased gazelle,
And like sheep, without any one to collect them ;

that how perfect soever their agree-
ment in form, no paronomasia was
designed. As to the geographical sit-
uation of VHX, Ophir, various opinions
are entertained. From the term being
rendered Σουφίρ, Σουφείρ, Σωφείρ, Σω-
hip, Σωφηρά, Σωφαρά, τὰ the LXX.,
and there having been a region called
Sofala somewhere about Zanguebar, or
Mozambique, on the eastern coast of
Africa, now named Afura, some have
been disposed to identify them ; but
the place seems more probably to
have existed either in Arabia or in
India. In favour of the latter country
it has been alleged, that Arrian men-
tions a place by the name of Οὔππαρα,
situated near the present Goa, called
by Ptolemy and Ammianus Σουπάρα,

doubtless the sw, Sofara, of Abul-

feda; and that India abounded in
gold, precious stones, and the other
articles of merchandise specified as
brought from Ophir, 1 Kings ix. 28, x.
11 ; 2 Chron. viii. 18,ix.10. To which
add, that in Kings and Chronicles, and
in the present instance, the Arabic

translator renders the word by Nil,

India. Others after Bochart, have
imagined they found it in Ceylon,
supposed to be the Taprobane of Pliny,
vi. 24. But the opinion best sup-
ported is that which refers it to
Arabia. “5x, Ophir, is employed, Gen.
x. 29, to designate a portion of the
descendants of Joktan ; and, to judge
from the other names occurring in
connexion with it in that geographical
table, they must have inhabited some
region in the present Oman, on the
west coast of the Persian gulf, just
below the straits of Ormuz; where
Ibn Batuta describesacity of the name

of jee , Zafar, a month’s journey from
Aden, and sixteen days’ from Hadra-

maut. In this district there is still a
town called H/-Ophir, in all probability
the pe of Edrisi. The Scriptures, 2

Chron. ix. 14; Ps. lxxii. 15 ; Isa. lx. 6 ;
speak of Arabia as a country abound-
ing in gold ; and the same testimony is
borne by Diod. Sic. 11. 50, iti. 44, 47 ;
Strabo, xvi. 777. It is not, however,
necessary to suppose that the gold and
other articles were native productions
of the region about Ophir: they may
have been conveyed thither by coast-
ing vessels from India, or even the
Indian archipelago, and laid up there,
as in a great emporium, to be re-
shipped, or conveyed in caravans,
according to the demand. See Ge-
senius zz loc. and Heb. Lex. iz voc.;
Robinson’s Calmet, and Winer’s Real-
Worterb.

13. To give sublimity and force to
the prophetic description of the awful
political catastrophe, the entire system
of the universe is represented as un-
dergoing a revolution—a figure fre-
quently employed in the higher kinds
of Hebrew composition. Comp. Ps.
XVill. 7—15, xlvi. 2, 3; Isa. xxiv. 19,
xxxiv. 4; Joel iii. 15, 16.

14—16. These verses are closely
connected with the preceding, and
describe the effects of the visitation
on the inhabitants of Babylon, espe-
cially such strangers as happened to
be in the city at the time of the
attack. Being a place of great con-
course, as the seat of a mighty em-
pire, and of extensive and flourishing
commerce, vast numbers from all
quarters would be found collected
within its walls, Jer. 1. 37. On the
approach of the enemy these would
take to flight, and each, if possible,
direct his course towards his native
place. Comp. Jer. 1. 16. 33, the
gazelle, is selected on account of its
timidity, and the lightness with

124

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XIII.

They shall turn, each to his own people,
And they shall flee, each to his own land.

15

Every one that is found shall be stabbed,

And every one that betakes himself to flight shall fall by the

sword.
16

And their infants shall be dashed in pieces before their eyes ;

Their houses shall be plundered, and their wives ravished.

17
Who regard not silver,
And have no delight in gold.

which it bounds across the plains, to
express the haste with which the
alarmed foreigners wouldattempt their
escape. After JN2, repeat N72 in the
plural, and supply ons after y322.—
ΤΙΒΌΞΙΤ 5, every one that betaketh himself
to flight. Most interpreters consider
720 as synonymous with "Ox, or FD,
and give the sense of gathering, assem-
bling together, joining, or such like. It
is clear, however, that none of these
senses accords with Xz'D3, in the corre-
sponding part of the parallelism. As
this verb signifies in Niphal, fo ezis¢,
be present any where, the only suitable
sense to attach to 78D), is that of not
being found, having removed, taken one’ s-
self off: a sense of which it admits—
md, in Kal, signifying ¢o take off, re-

move ; Arab. (sme, agilis ac velox fuit

eundo vel volando. The description
comprehends those who should re-
main in the city, and those who should
take to flight. No class, age, sex, or
property, should be spared by the
enemy, but all should be subject to
the calamities incident to war. Comp.
2 Kings vili. 12; Zech. xiv. 2; Ps.
exxxvil. 9. The fulfilment of this
prophecy is recorded by Xenophon,
who informs us, that on the taking of
the city, Cyrus sent his cavalry by
detachments into the roads, with
orders to put to death all that were
found without the palace. ‘O δὲ Κῦρος
διέπεμπε τὰς τῶν ἱππέων τάξεις κατὰ
τὰς ὁδούς" καὶ προεῖπεν οὺς μὲν ἔξω λαμ-
βάνοιεν κατακαίνειν, τοὺς δ᾽ ἐν ταῖς
οἰκίαις κηρύττειν τοὺς Συριστὶ ἐπιστα-
μένους ἔνδον μένειν. εἰ δέ τις ἔξω λη-
φθείη, ὅτι θανατώσοιτο. Οἱ μὲν δὴ ταῦτα
ἐποίουν. Cyroped. v. 11—For the

Behold, I will stir up against them the Medes,

verb 523, in this and other places
where it occurs, the Masorites have
substituted 120 in the Keri, but
merely from a principle of taste.

17. For the country of the Medes,
see note ver. 5. From the earliest
times they formed one of the largest
and most civilized kingdoms of Asia.
They were, however, conquered by
Ninus, and bore the Assyrian yoke
for a period of five hundred and
twenty years; but revolted during
the expeditions of Tiglath - pileser
and Shalmaneser into Western Asia.
About the year B.c. 700, Dejoces
was elected king. In the reign of
his son and successor Phraortes, the
Persian empire was added to that of
the Medes: the combined forces of
which were soon employed for extend-
ing his conquests. Having, after a
struggle of twenty years, expelled the
Scythians, who had invaded the king-
dom during his renewal of the siege
of Nineveh, Cyaxares I., with the
assistance of Nabopolassar, king of
Babylon, took that city, and made
Assyria a province of the Median
empire. Under Cyaxares II. hostilities
broke out between the Medes and
Babylonians, when Cyrus his nephew
was sent to assist him, at the head of
thirty thousand men. The Babylonians
having been dispersed, the war was
carried into Asia Minor; Creesus king
of Lydia was defeated; Sardis his
capital taken ; and his army added to
that of the conqueror. It was now
that Cyrus, in the plenitude of power
and success, returned to lay siege to
Babylon.—We read of the Medes and
Persians, Esth. x. 2; Isa. xxi. 2; Dan.
v. 28; and, in reversed order, the

CHAP. XIII.|

ISATAH.

125

18 Their bows also shall dash in pieces the young men ;
And on the fruit of the womb they shall have no compassion ;
Their eye shall not pity the children.

19

And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms,

The glorious ornament of the Chaldeans,
Shall be like Sodom and Gomorrah, overthrown by God.

20

She shall never more be inhabited,

Nor dwelt in through successive generations :

The Arab shall not pitch his tent there,

Neither shall the shepherds make their flocks to lie there.
21 But the wild beasts of the desert shall lie there,

Persians and Medes, Esth. i. 18, 19;
but the term Medes is here used, as it
often is by Greek writers, to compre-
hend both.—Their disregard of money
is attested by Xenophon, who repre-
sents Cyrus as complimenting them
on their not having been induced to
engage in the war from mercenary
motives: Ἄνδρες Μῆδοι, καὶ πάντες οἱ
παρόντες, ἐγὼ ὑμᾶς οἶδα σαφῶς, ὅτι οὔτε
χρημάτων δεόμενοι σὺν ἐμοὶ ἐξήλθετε.
Cyroped. v. 3. See Keith’s Evidence
from Prophecy, 14th edit. p. 260.

18. ning. The dows of the Per-
sians, which formed their principal
weapon, were only exceeded in size
and strength by those of the Ethio-
pians, and were well fitted to be used
as clubs. They measured about three
cubits in length.—yo2® and 023 are
synonymous. To the cruelty of the
invading foe decided testimony is
borne by Ammianus: “ magnidici, et
graves, ac tetri, minaces juxta in
adversis rebus ac prosperis, callidi,
superbi, CRUDELES.” And Diod. Sic.
lib. viii. attributes the destruction of
the empire of the Medes to their
cruelty towards inferiors: Ti καθεῖλε
τὴν Μήδων ἀρχήν; ἡ πρὸς τοὺς ταπεινο-
TEPOVS ὠμότης.

19. ΟΞ, the Chaldeans, see note on
chap. xxiii. 13. 7289, being a verbal
noun, is construed like the Infin. from
which it is derived. The comparison
of the destruction of any place with that
of Sodom and Gomorrah, for the sake
of aggravation, is very common, See
Deut. xxix. 22; Jer.].40; Amos iv. 11.

20. A prediction of the final and

utter desolation of Babylon.—7%n, and
aun, though active, are used passively,
—7, by an elision of the & for 7s,
like ἢ: for ἢ, Job xxxv. 11; 1m for
wn, 2 Sam. xx. 9; "2m for ‘MNM, 2
Sam. xxii. 40. This elision is occa-
sioned by the very slight consonantal
power of the Aleph, in virtue of which
it easily becomes lost in the vowel
attached to it. Nordheimer, Crit.
Heb. Gram. § 88. 3. Hitzig would
rather refer it to 73, as the root,

Arab, del, to lead to water, and ex-

plains it as meaning, that no Arab
should be found conducting his flocks
to drink; but he fails in his attempt
to prove its Hiphilic form.

21. Having employed the verb yn
at the end of the preceding verse, the
prophet with great force repeats it
when about to depict the only inha-
bitants that would in the course of
time be found in Babylon. oy de-
note such wild beasts generally as are
found in steppes, or arid deserts ; from

mY, or Mm, obsolete roots, Arab. | 0,

τε
exaruit, signifying to be exposed to the
sun, to be dry, desert, ἕο. 'The noun is
used of human beings inhabiting un-
cultivated regions, Ps. Ixxii. 9, lxxiv.
14; but the connexion in the present
case determines the sense to be that
of irrational animals. Comp. chap.
xxxiv. 14; Jer. 1. 39; in which last
passage the language applied to the
same subject as here, is partly identi-
calin terms. By ἘΠῚ are meant such
of the ruins of their houses as might

Q

126

ISATAH.

(CHAP. XIII.

And the owls shall fill their houses ;
The ostriches also shall dwell there,
And the wild goats shall skip there.
22 And the jackals shall ery in their palaces,

remain.—Onk is an onomatopoetiec,
like the Arab. ce, to repeat the

doleful exclamation ah/ lit. the how-
lers, i.e. owls, noted for their frequent-
ing old ruins, or uninhabited buildings,
and giving forth a doleful ery when
taking wing. According to the com-
mon reading of the text of Aq., he
translated the word by τυφώνων, Ty-
phons; but the first syllable is in all
probability an addition: the original
φωνῶν being found in Procopius.
Symm. retains the Hebrew ὠχείμ ;
LXX. and Theod. 7xo0v.—my niva, lit.
daughters of greediness, a name given to
ostriches, on account of their voracious
appetite; and frequently used both of
the males and the females. Some
derive the latter noun from Τῶν, fo
respond, ery, &c., but less properly,
though they are also notorious for the
doleful and hideous noise which they
make, particularly at night. The
LXX. in other places render στρουθοὶ
or στρουθία ; but here σειρῆνες, which
they give as a translation of 03m, when
it occurs before my n22; Symm. and
Theod. orpovOoxdpyndou.—orry, LXX.

δαιμόνια, Targ. pT, Syr. ees ; hence

Luther’s Feldgeister, field-spirits, and
the Waldteufel, “devils,” or “demons
of the wood,” of Gesenius and Hitzig.
Thus also our common version, satyrs,
and the French /utins, “ hobgoblins.”
All these, and other translators who
render similarly, have regarded the
term as designed to convey the idea of
a species of beings approaching more
or less to the nature and shape of
brute animals, most probably that of
the goat, yet at the same time exhi-
biting in part the human form. They
abound in the Greek mythology, along
with Stleni, Fauns, &c. That notions
of the existence of such creatures
prevailed in the East, and that they
still prevail there, is matter of noto-
riety. The Arabic, Persian, and

Turkish books are full of them. It
is more than questionable, however,
whether any reference is here made to
such superstitious belief. Popular
ideas are sometimes introduced into
the Scriptures for the sake of illustra-
tion; but it is contrary to the usage
of the sacred writers, as it is in-
compatible with their design, so to
introduce them as even seemingly to
give them the sanction of Divine
authority. It is most natural to
suppose that real animals are in-
tended; and as Ὁ Ὁ elsewhere signify
goats, there seems no reason why this
sense should be departed from in the
present instance. It is true the term
is employed to denote odjects of ido-
latrous worship, Lev. xvii. 7; 2 Chron.
xi. 15; but there the actual figures or
images of the animal are meant, which
were employed in the service of the
Egyptian idol, (Herod ii. 42,) and is,
therefore, improperly rendered devils
in our common version. The proposed
interpretation has the support of
τριχιῶνται, of Aq., and ὀρθοτριχοῦνται,
of Theod., by which they obviously
meant hairy, shaggy animals, such as
goats. Thus also the Vulg. pilosi, and

Saadias expressly csr Sa wild goats.

Some suppose the ourang-outang to
be meant; and Coverdale has apes;
but the term by which these animals
are designated in Hebrew is ἢν, 1
Kings x. 22.—Rev. xviii. 2, is an appro-
priation of the translation given of
the present text by the LXX. to
describe figuratively the desolation of
the great antichristian establishment,
and cannot be viewed as vouching for
the correctness of that version, any
more than numerous other quotations
made from it in the N.T., in which it
undeniably differs from the literal
meaning of the Hebrew text.

22. The verb 7» is in the singular,
because it precedes the noun, the
number of which had not been deter-
mined in the prophet’s mind when he

CHAP. XIV.]

ISAIAH.

127

And the wolves in the temples of pleasure :—
Yea, her time is near in its approach,

And her days shall not be prolonged.

began the sentence. This idiom fre-
quently occurs.—o™x, contracted for
ox, Aq., Symm., and Theod., retain
in their versions, ietv. LXX. ὀνοκέν-
tavpot, asinine centaurs, fabulous beings
or hobgoblins, which the ancients
imagined were wont to appear with
legs and feet like those of an ass, or,
with one brazen and the other like
that of an ass. They were otherwise,
from this circumstance, called ἐμπού-
oa. The Heb. word being derived
from 7s, seems quite to correspond to

i) oss Ibn Awi, the son of howling,

by which name the Arabs designate
the jackal: an animal noted for its
melancholy scream at night, like the
crying of a child, as I had occasion to
observe, when travelling in the Cau-
casus.—nin2>x stands for nv, palaces,
—the Ἢ being as frequently softened
into > That palaces, and not lonely,
Sorsaken places, are meant, the corre-
sponding 23 227 sufficiently shews.—
ἋΣ gives prominence to the luxury
and voluptuousness in which the
Babylonians indulged, and greatly
adds to the force of the contrast. δ
suffixed is to be taken collectively.—
min, LXX. ἐχῖνοι, mistaking the word
for O34, serpents. Aq., Symm., Theod.,
and all the other Greek versions,
σειρῆνες; Vulg. sirenes. Rabbi Tan-

chum interprets the word as signifying
ss! ω» Ibn Awi; see Pococke’s ela-

borate note on Micah i. 8; but this
phrase corresponds, as we have seen,
to o»x, and must, therefore, designate
some other species of animal. On com-
paring the Hebrew of Ps. xliv. 20; Is.
xlii. 20; Jer. ix. 10, x. 22, xlix. 33; itis
evident that the 024 were wild beasts
of the desert ; but no hint is given that
would lead us to refer them to the
race of serpents, as some have done.
They seem rather to be wolves: comp.

the Arab. ws lupus,—these animals

and the jackals resembling each other
in several respects, particularly in the
disagreeable whine, or cry, which they
make in the night. For the exact
fulfilment of the prophecy, see Keith’s
Evidence, pp. 238—325.

The concluding words of the verse
seem at first view to militate against
their having been delivered by Isaiah ;
but the Divine judgments are fre-
quently, in the prophetic style, said
to be at hand, or to approach, though
a long period intervene between their
announcement and their execution.
See Ezek. xxx. 3; Joel i. 15, 1. 1;
Rom. xiii, 12; 1 Pet. iv. 7; Rev. 1. 3,
xxii. 10.

— 4...

CHAPTER XIV.

This chapter, to the 23d verse, prosecutes the subject to the fall of Babylon.
After a cheering promise to the Jews, assuring them of their deliverance
from captivity, in consequence of the conquest of their enemy, 1—3, the
prophet introduces a magnificent ode of triumph to be employed by them
on the occasion, 4—21; and, to complete the prophecy, Jehovah is repre-
sented, 22, 23, as repeating the announcement of the entire destruction of

Babylon and its inhabitants.

Verses 24—27 contain a brief prediction of

the discomfiture of Sennacherib’s army, which connects with chap. x. in
point of subject, but occupies its proper place in this connexion ; and the
chapter concludes with a distinct prediction of the punishment of the

Philistines, 28—32. _

128 ISATAH.

[CHAP. XIV.

1 For Jehovah will take pity on Jacob,
Yea, he will again make choice of Israel,
And settle them in their own land ;
And strangers shall join themselves to them,
They shall attach themselves to the house of Jacob.
2 And the people shall take them, and bring them to their own

place.

And the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of Jehovah,
As servants and as handmaids ;
For they shall take captive their captors,
And shall rule over their oppressors.
3,4 And it shall be in the day, when Jehovah shall have given thee
rest from thine affliction, and thy disquiet, and from the hard
labour which was forcedly done by thee, that thou shalt

1. o7y 3. The conjunction here
forcibly introduces the ultimate cause
of the downfal of Babylon—the pity
of Jehovah towards his people, and
their restoration to their own land.
ΠΕΡ is quite synonymous with ΠῚ):
both signify to join oneself to another,
so as to make a common cause with
him. ὅν, in such connexion, conveys
the idea of inclination towards, or
dependence upon the following sub-
ject. The Jews formed, as it were,
the substratum on which the foreigner
rested. 21s a collective noun, which
accounts for one of the verbs being
in the singular, and the other in the
plural.

2. For the fulfilment of this and the
preceding verse, see Ezra ii. 65, where
it is expressly stated, that seven thou-
sand three hundred thirty and seven
servants and maids accompanied the
exiles on their» return. That these
were foreigners and not Israelites, is
evident from their not being reckoned
in the total number of the congrega-
tion. Their taking them along with
them as servants, is compared to their
having themselves been carried into
captivity into Babylon. That they
took them away as slaves is not at all
improbable.

3, Instead of Hiric under Ὁ in 732Y2
77>, a vast number of MSS. and
printed editions read 7'2éré, which is
the regular punctuation. J273Y Ws,
which was forcedly done by or through thee.

The verb being in Pua/ has an inten-
sive signification ; and, construed with
3, conveys the idea of foreign influence
exerted upon the persons spoken of.
That it should be of the Mas. and not
the Fem. gender, to agree with 773»,
the nominative, is to be accounted for
by an implied reference to the king of
Babylon, by whom the hard servitude
had been imposed.

4, Here commences the ode of
triumph on the fall of the Babylonian
monarch, which has called forth ex-
pressions of the highest admiration
from those best qualified to judge in
matters of poetic beauty andsublimity.
Bishop Lowth declares, that he “knows
not a single instance in the whole
compass of Greek and Roman poetry,
which, in every excellence of compo-
sition, can be said to equal, or even to
approach it ;” and, “that it may with
truth be affirmed, that there is no
poem of its kind extant in any lan-
guage, in which the subject is so well
laid out, and so happily conducted,
with such a richness of invention,
with such variety of images, persons,
and distinct actions, with such rapidity
and ease of transition, in so small a
compass, aS in this ode of Isaiah.
For beauty of disposition, strength of
colouring, greatness of sentiment,
brevity, perspicuity, and force of ex-
pression, it stands among all the
monuments of antiquity unrivalled.”
Notes on Isaiah, and Lect. xiii, on

CHAP. XIV.]

ISAIAH.

129

give utterance to this Ode respecting the king of Babylon,

and say :

How hath the oppressor ceased !

The exactress of gold ceased !

5 Jehovah hath broken the staff of the wicked,

The rod of the tyrants,
6 That smote the people in fury

Heb. Poetry. 502, Mashal, the term
by which it is designated, is singularly
appropriate, since it signifies not
merely similitude, parable, figurative
composition, but also, what is peculiarly
sublime and energetic, what is calculated
by its boldness and force to strike and
influence the mind. 'The signification of
the root 29, is fo assimilate, and also
to rule or have dominion, to exert an in-
fluence over others. Comp, the Arab.
he, similis fuit; prestans fuit; Qdd,
prestantissimus; Eth. GUPTA : com-
paravit, evistimavit. 02 xv? means to
give utterance to such sublime com-
position iz au elevated tone of voice.
Comp. Numb. xxiii. 7, 18, xxiv. 3,15;
Micah ii. 4—The Mashal opens with
a sudden exclamation of joy on the
part of the Jews. The oppressed
world and its inhabitants are then
introduced as participating in the ex-
ultation. The forests of Lebanon join
in the song; Hades personified, rouses
departed kings and princes to receive
the king of Babylon on his entrance
into their gloomy abode. These give
expression to no words of condolence,
but merely to a brief sentence of
surprise, not unmingled with satisfac-
tion at his reverse of fortune. The
Jews then tauntingly resume the song
in which they confirm at some length
the sentiment just uttered in Sheol;
and introduce the monarch boasting
of his power and the vastness of his
purposes, while they contrast with
these, his present state of utter pros-
tration and ignominy; concluding
with an execration on his offspring
and memory.—72712, which only
occurs in this verse, has been vari-
ously translated. Michaelis, Doder-
lein, Dereser, Gesenius, and Hitzig,
adopt the reading, 72799, which is
found in an edition of Isaiah printed

at Thessalonica in 1600, and render,
oppression; considering it to be a deri-
vative from 17, ἐο press, urge strongly.
There does not, however, appear sufti-
cient reason why 2772 should be
rejected. It is a Chaldee word: (3m,
gold, corresponding to 43 in Hebrew,)
and was probably one of the epithets
employed by the Babylonians in praise
of their city—“ the golden one,” or
“the golden city,” vy being under-

stood. Comp. the Arab. Lerrde,

auratus. Whether they thus desig-
nated her on account of the gilded
domes and turrets which abounded,

Oo vy Φ v
(comp. ἰξσι, Ἰξσι,ξο; in the Phi-

lox. Syr. Version of Rev. xvii. 4,) or
to convey the idea of the immense
quantities of gold in her treasuries,
temples, &c., cannot be determined ;
but to judge from the exactness of the
parallelism in this ode, it seems to be
certain, that the prophet used the
word in the Aphel sense of making,
procuring, raising gold by exaction or
tribute. Thus the LXX. ἐπισπουδαστής,

00 Υ
Syr. fagiaaado, evactor, leaving out
the idea of gold. Vulg. ¢ributum.
The above-interpretation is adopted
by Lowth and Winer.

5, 6. 72 and 029 are not to be un-
derstood in the sense of sceptre, but
in that of an instrument of oppression
and affliction. Oo being parallel to
myth, implies the idea of unjust,
tyrannical rulers. 132 is an instance
of the construct being used for the
absolute, as in many other passages.
See chap. xxxiii. 6, xxxv. 2; Lam. ii. 18.
Instead of 772, which is the reading
of all the Heb. MSS., Déderlein pro-
poses we should read N77, there being,
as Gesenius observes, often scarcely

180 ISATAL.

With an unremitting stroke ;

[CHAP. XIV.

That ruled over the nations in anger,

With unsparing tyranny.

7 The whole earth resteth, it is quiet ;

They burst into song.

8 Even the cypress trees exult over thee,

And the cedars of Lebanon [saying]:

Since thou art fallen,

No feller hath come up against us.
9 Sheol beneath is in commotion for thee,

any perceptible difference between
the letters ἢ and Π in the Eastern and
German codices. The passage would
then read, with unrestrained dominion.
This ingenious conjecture is adopted
by Gesenius and Hitzig, who specially
urge in its favour the completeness of
the parallelism, which they conceive
to be infringed by the present reading.
That a difficulty is created by the
passive form, το, cannot be denied ;
yet this may be removed by supposing
it to have been the design of the
prophet to give prominence to the
persecution or tyranny, as experienced
by those who were the subjects of it.
It was an evil of which they were zof
permitted to feel any alleviation. The
meaning of 77) and 7, in such con-
nexion, being almost the same, the
verbs are more parallel than 770 and
qo. Besides FLT occurs in con-
nexion with 41, 2 Sam. xviii. 16. The
LXX., Targ., Syr., and Vulg., appear
to have read το, the participle in
Piel. The rendering of our common
version, which makes the king of
Babylon the nominative, cannot be
sustained, being a direct violation of
the parallelism.

7. 732) 738, to burst into song, is a
favourite phrase of Isaiah in those
chapters which Gesenius treats as
spurious. Its occurrence in this
chapter furnishes a corroborative
proof of their genuineness. The no-
minative to WE is WIV, her inhabit-
ants, understood. They were now
allowed peaceably to pursue their
avocations, and loudly rejoiced in the
change that had taken place.

8. The objects of inanimate nature

here personified, are to be understood
figuratively as denoting those princes
and kings whom the monarch of
Babylon had subdued. Comp. chap.
ii, 13; Ezek. xxxi., where the same
metaphor isused, That any reference
should be had to that monarch’s
having cut down the forests of
Lebanon, to beautify his capital, is
very improbable. The particle, 23, a/so
or even, on which Gesenius and Hitzig
lay considerable stress, as favouring
the literal interpretation, possesses
quite as much force, if we take the
meaning of the passage to be figura-
tive. Not only the inferior inhabit-
ants of the countries subject to
Babylonian tyranny, but even the
most exalted and powerful of their
rulers who felt the effects of its
exercise, participate in the common
joy. Since its extinction, they had
occupied, unmolested, their stations
of dignity and honour. Comp. chap.
ii. 12, 13.

9. The boldest instance of prosopo-
peia to be met with in any language.
On Sheol, see chap. v.14. The Arab.

version has ease Gehim, the same as
“

(M>> ree, Gehenna, the place of

eternal fire ; though in the popular
Mohammedan theology, gts?-, is as-

signed to the Jews, who falsely ac-
cused and killed their own prophets ;
while ,ig>, is reserved for such
Mohammedans as die without repent-

ance, under the guilt of capital sins.
——ngm2 is improperly rendered /om

ϑ

_

ΟΗΑ͂Ρ.ΣΙΥ.]

To meet thine entrance ;

ISATAH.

151.

It rouseth for thee the deceased, all the leaders of the earth ;

It causeth to rise from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
10 They all commence, and say to thee:

Art thou too become weak as we are ?

Art thou become like unto us ?

beneath: the Ὁ retaining no more of
the prepositive power in such case,
than in 129, 2, pov, &e., in which it
simply expresses locality. So the

Arab. Quis wr) Koran, Sur. 11. 23,

vi. 65.— xv is of common gender, and
may be construed, as in 2) and 1,
op, with either ; so that there is no
ground for the exegesis of Jackson and
others, that in one of the instances
the prince of the lower regions is
meant: an idea which, as has been
remarked, is quite foreign to the
theology of the Hebrews.—oyn, Aq.
and Theod. ῥαφαείμ; LXX., Targ., Syr.,
Vulg., Giants. Because this word is
identical with that employed to denote
a tribe of gigantic Canaanites, Gen.
xiv. 5, and others of uncommon sta-
ture, some imagine that these ancient
giants are here specifically meant ; but
the frequent occurrence of the term
in connexions where simply the notion
of the departed is conveyed, without
any regard to bodily stature, proves,
that it is to be derived, not from ΝΒ,
which signifies to heal, make sound,
robust, &c., but from 75), to fall, fall
away, relax, become faint, and so to be
powerless as it regards every thing in
the present state. We have examples
of similar derivation in oxo, from

77; OND, from 722. Comp. &y, com-
mode quieteque vizxit, and (5 quietavit,

quietum reddidit. In reference to the
turmoils and annoyances of this life,
as well as to its active concerns, there
is a total cessation at death. See Job
11. 13, 17—Yrwopny, lit. the he-goats of
the earth, but used metaphorically of
leaders, kings, or princes. Comp.
Zech. x. 3. The LXX., Syr, Vulg.,
Arab., resolve the figure, and render
rulers, princes. 'The Targ. appears to
have read ")ry, or FIX ‘PHY, “ the rich

of the earth,” mistaking 1 for 71—In
this verse the state of the dead is
represented as thrown into great
agitation, on its being announced
that the mighty king of Babylon is
about to enter. Personages of the
same rank, as the fittest to conduct
the ceremony of his reception, and
the most likely to sympathise with
him, are selected to present them-
selves, and address him on the occasion.
They rise from their thrones of state
on which they had been sitting—per-
petuating in mock majesty the pageant
which they had exhibited while on
earth ; (just as Ezekiel describes the
departed warriors with their weapons
of war and their swords laid under
their head in Sheol, chap. xxxii. 27 ;)
but instead of condoling with him,
they merely give utterance to the few
words contained in the 10th verse,
which rather aggravate his downfal,
by reminding him of his deprivation
of power and pomp, and his reduction
to a state of equality with themselves,
many of whom he had subdued or slain.

10, 7», Arab. uss voluit, intendit

aliquid dictis suis ; protulit, respondit ;
like ἀποκρίνεσθαι, in the LXX. and N.
T., usually signifies ¢o answer, or respond,
but also ¢o commence speaking; and
preceding the verb 72x, it increases
its force. Gesenius considers the lat-
ter acceptation to be more recent
Hebrew. It occurs, however, Job iii.
2, the antiquity of which book has
lately been ably vindicated by Dr.
Lee ; and is also found, Deut. xxi. 7,
xxvi. 5. Comp. Zech. i. 10, iii. 4,
iv. 11, 12.—There is uncommon beauty
in the brevity of this address. It is
precisely such as might be expected
from those by whom it is delivered.
To extend it, so as to make it com-
prehend one or more of the following
verses, or, as some have done, the

ISATAH. [CHAP. XIV.

132

11 Thy pomp is brought down to Sheol,
And the sounding of thy harps ;
Under thee is spread putridity,

And the worms are thy covering.

12 How thou art fallen from heaven,

Illustrious Son of the Morning!

whole of the remaining part of the
Mashal, would quite spoil the effect.

11. The Jews here continue their
taunting Mashal.—xw, for 780, the
local 7 being omitted. Instead of
oN, sixty-five MSS., originally one
more, and now two, twelve printed
editions, some of them the earliest,
with the LXX., Syr., Arab., and Vulg.,
read O22 in the singular; but as
there appears to be a studied accor-
dance between 7AIA and Fer, the
true reading is more probably that of
the Textus Receptus. The latter half
of the verse clearly shews, that the
Hebrews were accustomed to consider
the grave as forming part of Sheol.
Instead, however, of the royal body
being embalmed, or inwrapped with
splendid sepulchral attire, and placed
in a magnificent mausoleum, it was
to become a mass of putridity and
worms. What is thus briefly antici-
pated, is expressly and fully stated
ver. 19.

19. Ὑτυ 3 57, Llustrious Son of the
Morning! The form 7 occurring
Ezek. xxi. 17, and Zech, xi. 2, (9777,)
as the Hiph. Imper. of %, to howl,
lament, some take it in the same ac-
ceptation here, and render lament, Son
of the Morning, a.sense not in itself to
be rejected. Thus Aq,, the Syr., and
Jerome in his Commentary, though in
his version this father has Lucifer, as
that which is to be preferred. To this
rendering, however, the structure of
the verse is decidedly opposed ; the
parallelism requiring Wwy32 377 to
describe the person before his having
fallen from heaven, just as D}%y win
describes him previous to his having
been felled to the ground, Any Im-

erative interjected would spoil the
pean and impair the force of the
language. We must, therefore, with
the LXX., Targ., Jerome, Saadias,
Abenezra, Jarchi, Kimchi, Vitringa,
Leo Juda, the Jewish Spanish, Lowth,

Gesenius, Rosenmiiller, and Hitzig,
refer 7 to the root 5, fo shine;
and consider it as a verbal noun,
formed with 72éré and Yod, instead of
27, the regular Piel form, and so de-
signed to be intensive in signification,

The Arabic Jl», which is derived
from ον, to shine, be resplendent, and

designates the new moon, may be
compared for the sake of illustration.
Hitzig is of opinion that 977 was used
exclusively for the Morning-star; LXX.

ὁ ἑωσφόρος; Hexap. Syr. wasaa
Ἰσι 2; Arab. Pol. eval ahs
Ciptndl. This star the Rabbins also
call 8722 2253, and the Arabs. δ) Ὁ δ)» the

Shining Star, or the Shiner. Comp.
ὁ ἀστὴρ ὁ λαμπρὸς ὁ πρωϊνός, Rey. xxi.
16, and φωσφόρος, 2 Pet. i. 19.—The
idiomatic ὙΠ 3, son of the morning, de-
noting that which belongs to, or
appears at that time, the LXX. render
ὁ πρωὶ ἀνατέλλων. The application of
this passage to Satan, and to the fall
of the apostate angels, is one of those
gross perversions of Sacred Writ
which so extensively obtain, and
which are to be traced to a proneness
to seek for more in any given passage
than it really contains, a disposition
to be influenced by sound rather than
by sense, and an implicit faith in
received interpretations. “ Quum,”
says Calvin, “temere arripiuntur
Scripturze loci, nec attenditur con-
textus, hos errores passim oboriri
mirum non est.” Comm. iz loc. The
scope and connexion shew that none
but the king of Babylon is meant. In
the figurative language of the Hebrews,

3312, a star, like LS, with the Arabs,

signifies an illustrious prince or king.

CHAP. XIV.]|

ISAIAH.

133

How thou art felled to the ground,
That didst discomfit the nations !
13 Thou saidst in thine heart, I will scale the heavens ;
Above the stars of God I will raise my throne ;
Yea, I will sit on the mount of the assembly, in the recesses of

the north ;

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;

See Numb. xxiv. 17; and comp., for
this acceptation, Rev. ii. 28, and xxii.
16. The monarch here referred to,
having outshone all other kings in
royal splendour, is compared to the
harbinger of day, whose _brilliancy
surpasses that of the surrounding
stars. Falling from heaven denotes
a sudden political overthrow—a re-
moval from the position of high
and conspicuous dignity formerly
occupied. Comp. Rey. vi. 13, viii. 10.

In the latter half of the verse the
metaphor is changed, and that of a tall
majestic tree is introduced, which, on
being felled, lies prostrate on the
ground. Comp. Ezek. xxxi. and Dan.
iv. 10O—15, Diaty win Hitzig ren-
ders, Who didst extend thy branches over
the pecople—a sense which would
admirably agree with the metaphor
of a tree affording shelter to all who
are under its branches; but this in-
terpretation cannot be philologically
sustained. The Jewish interpretation
of casting lots over the nations is
won, Arab. Uri,
rapuit, abripuit, signifies to throw down,
lay or spread on the ground, &c. ; hence
to overthrow or discompt an enemy. Fol-
lowed by %, it indicates the state of
subjection in which the prostrate
nations were held by the Babylonian
sway, or the triumphant manner in
which that sway had been established
and maintained. Comp. Exod. xvii.
13, only Ὁ is there properly omitted,
the verb being employed by Moses to
express a simple victory, and not con-
tinued mastery.

13, 14. In order to aggravate the
downfal of the Babylonian monarch,
the Jews, not content with depicting
the elevated political position which
he had occupied, proceed to describe

equally untendble.

the pride and arrogance of his heart,
which had led him to aspire to an
equality with the Deity himself. By
most interpreters the language is
taken figuratively in application to the
Jewish state, with its principal offi-
cers, the temple, and its Lord: but,
how suitable soever such expressions
might be in the mouth of a Jew, or of
one intimately acquainted with He-
brew modes of speech, they seem
quite inappropriate if used in the
same sense by the king of Babylon.
Before this triumphant ode is sup-
posed to be sung, that monarch had
not only purposed to go up against
Jerusalem, but had actually carried
his purpose into effect, dethroning
the king, subverting the temple, and
carrying the people away into cap-
tivity. The obvious bearing of the
language, however, implies, that the
proud and haughty purposes couched
in it had not been attained, and were,
indeed, such as to be utterly unattain-
able. We are, therefore, compelled
to relinquish the common interpreta-
tion, which has been supported by
none more ably than by Vitringa, and
adopt that which was first obscurely
hinted at by the LXX., was rendered
more definite by Theodoret, and has
been more fully brought out by
Michaelis in his Supplem. ad Lexx.
Heb. No. 1009, and by Rosenmiller,
Gesenius, and Hitzig, in their com-
mentaries on the place ; viz. that the
monarch of Babylon gives utterance
to sentiments founded on the re-
presentations of Asiatic mythology.
While the Greeks had their Olympus,
and the Hindoos their Meru, the

ancient Persians had their ays), Llburs,
or on 9 Hlborj, ἃ name still given
R

184

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XIV.

I will make myself like the Most High.

to the highest mountain in the Cau-
casian range. which is upwards of
13,000 feet above the level of the
Black Sea. According to the Bunde-
sheh, one of the books of the Parsees,
this mountain rose, by the will of
Ormuzd, when the world was created,
during the first two hundred years, to
the starry heavens; during the next
two, to the sphere of the moon ; during
the third two, to that of the sun ;
and during the fourth two, to the
region of primeval light. Here is ¢he
throne of Ormuzd, the congregation of
the living, the pure region of light,
where there is neither enemy, dark-
ness, nor death. Thither, it is said,
the enemy dares not ascend as the domi-
neering lord, for there walks the great
king, the Sun, who is appointed Am-
shaspand over all things, &c.

The Babylonians, being much ad-
dicted to the cultivation of astronomy,
could not but have been familiar with
those mythological fables which were
mixed up with the cosmogonies of the
ancients ; and doubtless the monarchs
who maintained at their courts those
who were skilled in such matters,
Dan. ii. 2, 10, 27, v. 7, must have like-
wise been more or less acquainted
with them. It was, therefore, per-
fectly natural for them, when arro-
gantly aftecting divine honours, to
form the purpose of scaling the Cau-
casus; and, rising above the region of
the clouds and stars, of taking pos-
session of the throne of Deity, which
they imagined to be on the summit of
its highest mountain.—97233, stars of
God, the Genitive of cause; stars
which God hath made: as ΠΝ,
cedars which God hath planted, 7.e.
of natural growth, Ps. Ixxx. 11; 8°17,
mountains which God hath made, Ps.
XXXvi. 7. δ, from ‘x, fo be strong,
powerful, is used in poetry and sub-
lime prophetic style in the same way
as OW; but never in prose, except it
be followed either by a pronominal
suffix, an adjective, or some qualifying
epithet. According to Sanchoniathon,
il or Ii was the name by which the
Pheenicians designated Saturn ; and
Damasc. apud Photium informs us,
that they and the Syriazs called him

Hil, Bel, and Bolathon. Gesen. Thes.
in voc. It might, therefore, be appro-
priately used by the king of Babylon,
—wwio, the mount of assembly, is Al-
borj, considered as the place where
the living, i.e. the blessed, are congre-
gated —jer ney, the recesses, ovr the re-
mote regions of the North; UXX. ra
ὄρη τὰ ὑψηλὰ τὰ πρὸς Boppav, which
Theodoret explains, ὄρος δὲ ὑψηλὸν
εἶναι λέγεται βοῤῥάθεν ᾽᾿ΑΔσσυρίων καὶ
Μήδων, ἀπὸ τούτων τὰ Σκυθικὰ διορίζον
ἔθνη, πάντων τῶν κατὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην
ὄρων ὑψηλότατον ; language which, in
such connexion, can only apply to the
mountains of the Caucasus. 9% sig-
nifies the thigh or haunch, and figura-
tively the hinder, innermost, remotest
parts of any thing. As thus used of
inanimate objects. it is almost always
in the dual, as in the present instance.
Comp. for the geographical use of the
term, Judg. xix. 1, 18; Isa. xxxvii.
24; Jer. vi. 22, xxv. 32; and for the
application of other members of the
human body in a geographical sense,
the words tk, P, 902, &e.—yrv) Wa.
The Dagesh in 7 is compensative for
the of the Hithpael Conjug., in
which the verb is aptly put to express
the self-sufficient pride of the am-
bitious monarch. ἡ ν, the Highest,
Most High, is another of those Divine
names common to the Hebrews. Sy-
rians, and Pheenicians. Thus San-
choniathon in Euseb., Κατὰ τούτους
γίνεται τὶς ᾿Ελιοὺν καλούμενους ὕψιστος.
The name is sometimes used by itself
in Hebrew ; but more commonly it is
coupled with °8, ΘΠ, and 77. The
designation ΚΣ 98 occurs thrice in the
brief notice of Melchizedek, Gen. xiv.
17—23. The term being here em-
ployed in the singular, and not in the
plural as in the <Alonim valonoth, the
highest gods and goddesses of Plautus,
Peen. v. 1. 1, does not imply that the
king of Babylon was a monotheist.
In all the modifications of Polytheism,
one god has been regarded as superior
to the rest. Not satisfied with making
himself equal to any of the inferior
deities, his ambition led him to aspire
after an equality with the Supreme.
Compare as parallels, Ezek. xxviii. 2;
2 Thess. ii. 4.

CHAP. XIV.]

15
To the recesses of the pit.
16

ISAIAH.

135

But thou art brought down to Sheol,

Those that see thee shall gaze at thee,

They shall view thee attentively, [and say :]
Is this the man that made the earth to tremble ?

That shook the kingdoms ?
17
And laid waste its cities,

That made the world a wilderness,

And sent not his prisoners home ?

18

All the kings of the nations, all of them,

Lie in state, each in his own sepulchre ;

15. Here %x% contrasts with the
different phrases employed in the
preceding verse to express the highest
elevation, just as 2727 does with
pes ney. Comp. Matt. xi. 23. wWaoensy
means ¢he deepest recesses of Sheol, into
which the king is represented as
having been precipitated.

16. He is now exhibited as an
object of astonishment. Spectators
crowd around him; and, after con-
templating his prostrate condition,
add to his misery by adverting in
pointed terms to his former power
over the nations of the earth.—At
the Athnach, Wx?, is understood, but
could not with any propriety have
been expressed in the text.—m2v is
not much in use, but signifies, in
Hiphil, ¢o ixspect narrowly, to look at
any object with intense interest. The
Hithpa. 2} 3) is also peculiarly em-
phatic. It signifies, 4o consider and
reconsider ; and implies that the per-
sons spoken of had some difficulty in
persuading themselves that the de-
graded object before them could really
be the king of Babylon.

17. The pronom. suffix in ™, and
yyox, belongs to different antecedents:
the former to 3m, and the latter to
the king, understood. The local 7 in
m3, shews that the word is to be
taken in the sense of homewards, and
does not refer to a prison, as our
translators, after Jerome and others,
have supposed. Thus, however, Cover-
dale, which let not his prisoners go home.
mamma 8? ig strongly elliptical. In
full the sentence would be nn x)
ma one Sy orp. It has ever been

regarded as indicating the utmost
cruelty, to refuse the exchange or
return of prisoners taken in war.
18,19. A fresh contrast, affording
another cutting ground of insult to
degraded majesty. In accordance to
the Oriental custom οἵ erecting
splendid mausoleums for kings and
other great men, in the sides of which
were subordinate apartments or ceils
fitted for the reception of the dead
bodies, and of depositing them in
these apartments, after the previous
funeral solemnities had been com-
pleted, all the other kings of the earth
are represented as occupying in silent
state the chambers allotted to them ;
whereas to the king of Babylon the
rites of sepulture are denied; no
royal mausoleum receives his dead
body; nor is it committed to a com-
mon grave, but is left to putrefy on
the ground. For an illustration of
the sepulchres of the ancients, see
note on chap. xxii. 16.—— FD? ANI
does not imply that the king had
been buried and afterwards thrown
out of his sepulchre, that he might
be exposed as here described. The Ὁ
is used absolutely, signifying iz a state
of separation from, at a distance from,
without, or destitute of, and is quite
independent of the verb. Without
thy grave, means, without being de-
posited in the sepulchre which thou
hadst prepared for thyself, or which
was destined for thee. Comp. Jer.
xxii. 19.—a2yn) ἼΞ2) is a branch which
has been cut down, and left to rot on
the ground, and, in its corrupt state,
is loathed by all who approach it.—

136 ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XIV.

19 But thou art cast away, deprived of thy grave,

Like a detested branch ;

Covered with the slain, the pierced by the sword,
Who go down to the stones of the pit ;
Like a carcase, trodden under foot.

20 'Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial,
Because thou hast destroyed thy country,

And slain thy people:

The race of evil doers shall never be named.
21 Prepare slaughter for his children,

2) our translators, with some others,
consider to be a construct noun, and
supply a 2 before it; but it is the
Pah. Part. in construction, and refers
to the dead body of the king lying in
the mass of the slain, by whom it

as, the Part. in Pual

of yo, Arab. wr to pierce through,

thrust.a sword into any one. It occurs
only here, and Gen. χὶν. 17, in which
latter passage Parkhurst thinks it
should be rendered goad, egg on by
pricking the animals; but the Ara-
maic sense of /oading seems prefer-
able.—Vaaw, the stones of the pit, the
LXX. render ἅδου, Symm. θεμέλια
λάκκου, Vulg. fundamenta laci, Luth.
den Steinhaufen der Holle; whereas
some explain the phrase to mean
such heaps of stones as are raised
over dead bodies in the open field.
There can scarcely be a doubt that it
refers to the sarcophagi, or stone coffins,
in which persons of distinction were
buried, and which, from their size,
and their being placed in the cham-
bers built in, or dug out of, the
sides of the mausoleum, might, with
the strictest propriety, be called its
stones, See a representation of them
in Calmet, 8vo. edit. art, Sepulchre.
Splendid specimens are exhibited in
the British Museum. Such sarcophagi
have been found containing human
skeletons, in the immense northerly
mass of ruins near Babylon, called the
Mujelibé. osenm. in Bib. Cab, vol. 11.
p- 18. Warn, those who go down to the
pit, is in frequent use to denote mor-
tal men generally, such as must soon
descend into the grave: comp. x8 TY,
Job vii. 93 MMH nN, Job xxxiii. 24;

but W323 5x "NY describes a particular
class of mortals—princes and nobles,
for whom a more honourable sepulture
was prepared. While the bodies of
the slain courtiers and captains, with
which that of the king of Babylon was
covered, should be sought out, and
after having been embalmed, placed,
each in its sarcophagus, in the sub-
terranean chambers, his would be left,
no one being able to recognise it, from
the mangled state to which it had
been reduced, and the disfiguration it
had undergone by being trampled
upon by the multitude. D2 735) con-
nects closely with 2m? 1223, only the
prepositive 2 is the Cuph veritatis.
This prophecy was minutely fulfilled.
On entering the city, the army of Cyrus
marched straight to the palace; and
meeting the king, who was coming out
sword in hand, they slew him, and
put all who followed him to the sword;
and, though Xenophon specially no-
tices the permission given to bury
the dead, he takes no notice whatever
of the royal corpse. He only speaks
of him as τὸν ἀνόσιον βασιλέα. Cyro-
peed. lib. vii. ch. v. 29, 32, 34.

20. Before quitting the subject, the
Jews once more exult over the desti-
tute condition of the fallen monarch,
by reminding him that he should not
participate in the rites of sepulture
performed upon those who had been
slain in his presence, and that no
monument should perpetuate his
memory, or that of his family. δ
DY? NI, shall not be called, named,
read, implying that no inscription
should tell where he lay.

21. The ode concludes with the de-
nouncement of a curse on the children

Se ee

CHAP. XIV. |

ISATAH.

137

For the iniquity of their fathers ;
That they may not rise, and possess the land,
And fill the face of the world with cities.

22

For I will arise against them, saith Jehovah of Hosts ;

And I will cut off from Babylon name and remnant,
Progeny and offspring, saith Jehovah.

of water ;

And I will make her the possession of the porcupine, and pools

And will sweep her completely out with the besom of de-

struction,

Saith Jehovah of Hosts.

of the Babylonian king. They should
reap the fruit of their ancestors’ guilt :
the dynasty would be entirely set
aside by the Persian rule. To prevent
the revival of an ancient dynasty,
it has very often been the practice
to make away with all who possessed
hereditary claims to the throne.—
or, Hitzig takes to be a false reading
for DY, heaps, ruins, the result of fresh
wars ; but it is a mere conjecture.
The LXX., Targ., Syr., Rosenmiiller,
and Gesenius, render it exemies; but
Aquila, Symm., Theod., Vulg. and
Saadias, have cities, which Kimchi
considers to be the more natural of
the two interpretations. Reference
is had to the founding of new cities
and colonies, which a revival of the
ancient power might soon have en-
abled them to do.

22, 23. These two verses contain a
solemn declaration on the part of
Jehovah, that he would make an end
not only of the royal family, but of
the entire population, and convert the
city into an uninhabitable marsh.
The former took place on its capture
by Cyrus ; the latter progressively in
the course of ages. See chap. xiil. 1.
—The nouns, 732) 72) wh DW, are ac-
cumulated for the sake of effect,
order to express the completeness of
the extinction. The alliteration also
deserves notice. For 733, Gesenius
very properly compares the Ethiop.

WE: gens, cognatio. Pi, the root
from which 72 is derived, occurs Ps.

Ixxii. 17, in connexion with Dw, in the
sense of being celebrated through the

medium of a numerous posterity—

Hep, Arab. Xs, Eth. PtH: pro-

nounced, according to Hést and Fors-
kal, ganfud : the porcupine, or the sea-
ur chins which is said to abound about
the mouths of the Euphrates.—
REND PONOND, an exquisite finish to
this unparalleled piece of prophetic
composition. It is one of those in-
stances in which the apparent mean-
ness of the image is so compensated
by the peculiar form of the expression,
as to give it the character of the sub-
lime. Twenty-two MSS., originally
nine more, now by correction two, the
Brixian, and another ancient edition,
read ‘23023 in the plural: but the sin-
gular is ‘decidedly preferable. What
the words mean, Kimchi tells us the
Rabbins could not make out till they
heard an Arab female call to her com-
panion, Oskoli tatithan, watati baithan,
z.e. take the besom, and sweep the
house. The Pilpel, or reduplicate
form, both of the verb and the noun,
gives great intensiveness to the mean-

ing. Comp. lblb, in Kosegarten’s

Annals of Taberist, i. p. 60. Ewald’s
Gramm. § 235. Eng. translation. As to
the root, Gesenius hesitates between
nm or xm, and oO, The latter he
adopts in his Thesaurus; but the
former, of which he approves in his
other Lexicons, and in his Commen-
tary, seems preferable. It is approved
by Winer and Lee. The LXX. render;

θήσω αὐτὴν πηλοῦ βάραθρον cis ἀπώ-
Aecay; from which it appears, that
they derived the words from 0,

198 ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XIV.

24 Jehovah of Hosts hath sworn, saying,
Verily as I have thought, so shall it be,
And as I have purposed, so shall it stand.
25 ΤῸ crush the Assyrian in my land,
And to trample him on my mountains ;
Then shall his yoke depart from them,
And his burden be removed from their shoulder.
26 This is the purpose that is formed concerning all the earth,
And this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.
27 For Jehovah of Hosts hath purposed, and who can disannul it ?
It is his hand that is stretched out, and who can turn it back ?

28 In the year in which Ahaz the king died, this sentence was

pronounced.

24—27. From his celebrated pre-
diction respecting the more distant
future, the prophet returns once more
to the Assyrian invasion, the subject
which most pressed upon his contem-
poraries, being the calamity with
which they were immediately threat-
ened. Jehovah now declares by the
mouth of Isaiah, in plain and explicit,
but peremptory and forcible language,
that it was his unalterable purpose to
overthrow that foreign power in the
Holy Land. lLowth attempts to iden-
tify the Assyrian with the Baby-
lonian foe; but though what he
alleges is true, that in profane authors
the names are interchangeable, yet
the circumstance of the discomfiture
taking place in Judea, ver. 25, suffi-
ciently proves that the Assyrians pro-
per are those to whom the prophet
refers. These three verses obviously
connect in application with chapters
X.—xli.; yet not as a fragment that
has been torn off from them, since
there is no place in that portion which
it can claim as its position. It is an
independent oracle, pronounced on
occasion of the delivery of the pro-
pheey concerning Babylon; and its
actual position furnishes an additional
argument in favour of the genuineness
of that prophecy.

yaw), The verb fo swear, in Hebrew,
is always used in the passive, in re-
ference to the person who takes an

oath, which would seem to intimate
his being laid under the obligation which
such an act involves—On ον, see
note, chap. v. 9. Before D770 87 is an
ellipsis of 3. The purposes of God
are, like himself, immutable. See
chap. xlvi. 10; Heb. vi. 17. For ‘ss,
my land, comp. ver. 2 ; Hos. ix. 3; and
for ‘1, my mountains, Ezek. xxxviii. 21,
with xxxix, 2/4. Zech. xiv. 5. The
mountains immediately about Jerusa-
lem are specifically meant. See chap.
xxxvi.2. The latter half of ver. 25 is
almost a verbal repetition of chap. x.
27: the meaning is the same.—In
verses 26 and 27 it is declared that
Jehovah’s purpose to punish the ene-
mies of his people was not restricted
to the Assyrians, but had for its
object every nation throughout the
earth which might set itself to afilict
or oppress them.

28. The section, from this verse to
the end of the chapter, contains a dis-
tinct prophecy against the PHILISTINES.
This people were not aborigines of
the country which they occupied, but,

aan: to emigrate; UXX. generally

ἀλλόφυλοι.) foreigners, who, according
to Amos ix. 7, Jer. xlvii. 4, came from
the island of Caphtor, or Crete, hence
called On, Cherethites, or Cretans,

EE ΒΟ 0 «0 «. σαν “ΘΒ ΌΨΟΨΌΩΝΙ

CHAP. XIV.]

ISAIAH.

139

29 Let not any part of thee rejoice, Ὁ Puiiisrra!
Because the rod which smote thee is broken ;

Ezek. xxv. 16; Zeph. ii. 5; 1 Sam.
xxx.14,16. Both those who remained
upon the island, and those who emi-
grated, are stated, Gen. x. 14, to have
descended from the Casluhim, an
Egyptian colony. Having driven away
the Avites, they took possession of the
south-east coast of the Mediterranean,
and had cities and kings as early as
the days of Abraham. Though nomi-
nally subdued by Joshua, they had in
the time of Samuel five small king-
doms or satrapies, and were first
really brought into subjection by
David, 2 Sam. viii. 1. They were,
however, continually prone to revolt.
In the reign of Jehoram, they, and
their allies, the Arabs, made an in-
cursion into Judah, and even plun-
dered the royal palace; but during
the reign of Uzziah they were kept
quiet, in consequence of his having
demolished the walls of their princi-
pal cities, and built fortresses in dif-
ferent parts of their country, 2 Chron.
xxvi. 6,7. Asa chastisement of the
wicked Ahaz, they were permitted
again to invade the land ; and they
appear so to have gloried in the ad-
vantages they had gained, and in the
prostrate condition of Jewish affairs,
that the prophet was commissioned,
a little before that king’s death, to
deliver this prophecy against them.

In our common version, the para-
graph mark is placed at ver. 29, by
which the present verse is made to
assign the date of the preceding pro-
phecy against Babylon ; but the cir-
cumstance that the announcement of
a xwd, or sentence, is always made at
the commencement of a prophecy,
shews that it here belongs to what
follows. Instead of πὸ, “λας, Ken-
nicott’s Cod. 351, reads ww, Uzziah,
whom several commentators suppose
to be intended, on account of the
yoke which he imposed upon the
Philistines. It is, however, altogether
destitute of critical support, and the
hypothesis that he is _ specifically
meant, cannot be sustained. That
the prophecy was delivered before the
death of Ahaz, see chap. vi. 1.

29. mB is called by Josephus,
Antiq. i. 6, 2, Παλαιστίνη, in strict
application to the country occupied
by the Philistines: but viii. 10, 3, he
extends to the whole country of the
Israelites the name of Palestine, by
which it has been known to the pre-
sent time.—By the ‘‘rod which smote”
the Philistines, is meant the Jewish
power, which had, as noticed above,
punished them in the days of Uzziah,
but was now broken in those of Ahaz,
partly by the Syrians and Israelites,
partly by the inroads of the Edomites
and Philistines, and partly by Tiglath-
pileser, 2 Chron. xxviii. To repress
their joy at these disastrous events,
the prophet tells them. in highly figu-
rative language, that from the royal
house of Judah, a prince should arise,
who would prove more formidable and
destructive to them than his prede-
cessors. This prince was Hezekiah,
who “smote the Philistines even unto
Gaza, and the borders thereof, from
the tower of the watchmen to the
fenced city,” 2 Kings xviii. 8 —With
respect to the figures employed, as
Calvin well remarks, there is nothing
ignominious in them, since all they
are intended to convey, is the idea of
the injury to be inflicted on the
enemy. On YD, see note on chap. xi.
7.— FEIN Ww, LXX. ὄφεις werapevor,
is of more difficult interpretation.
Michaelis in his Orient. Biblioth. v.
164, thinks it is only another name
for the basilisk, just mentioned ; but
his opinion is faucifully supported.
That a species of serpent is meant, is
clear from Numb. xxi. 6, 8, where we
read of DEWwI DWN, fiery serpents.
They appear to have had this name
given to them on account of their v/vid
Jiery colour, being somewhat like the
copper-coloured snake in appearance ;
on which account, a serpent of copper
or brass was set up, to which the bit-
ten Israelites were to look, in order to
be healed. Gott. Hein. von Schubert,
in his Travels in the East, Zweit.
Band. Seit. 406, Erlangen, 1839, de-
scribes a large serpent which he saw,
and which the Arabs aftirmed abounded

140

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XIV.

For out of the root of the serpent shall come forth a basilisk,
And his fruit shall be a flymg serpent.

30

Then shall the first-born of the poor feed,

And the needy shall lie down in security ;
But 1 will kill thy root with famine,
And thy remnant shall be slain.

91

Howl, O gate! ery aloud, O city!

O Philistia! thou art entirely dissolved ;

in this region, as full of fiery red spots
and undulating stripes, and, judging
from the structure of its teeth, one of
the most poisonous of its species. The
most remarkable circumstance con-
nected with those described here and
chap. xxx. 6, is that of their flying:
no serpents now in existence being
known to naturalists to have wings,
from which it is inferred that they
never did exist. There can, however,
be no doubt that some of the most
respectable authorities among the
ancients speak of winged or flying
serpents, on occasions which would
lead us to suppose that they are not
treating of the fabulous, but of facts
known to themselves and their con-
temporaries. See Herod. lib. 1]. 75,
iii. 107 ; lian, Hist. Animal. lib. 1].
cap. 28; Joseph. Antiq. lib. 11. 10, 2;
Cicero de Nat. Deor. i. 36; Mela,
11. 9; Amm. Marcellin. xxii. Some
of these writers refer them _ to
the great Arabian desert, as does
Isaiah, chap. xxx. 6; and we must
conclude either that a species is de-
scribed which has become extinct, or
that the kind is meant which Niebuhr
mentions in his Description of Arabia,
which, instead of descending from a
tree, in order to ascend another, make
a sudden spring from the one to the
other, and on this account are called
Jing serpents by the modern Arabs.
So much is certain, that by 7b Ay,
the prophet intended a serpent whose
appearance was formidable, and its
bite peculiarly nocuous. The whole
passage is applied in the Targ. to
the Messiah, which Rosenmiiller ap-
proves !

30. In consequence of the effectual
subjugation of the Philistines by
Hezekiah, the very poorest of the
inhabitants of Judah should live in

security: whereas, the power of the
Philistines should be annihilated. As
"123 signifies figuratively what is the
chief or most eminent in degree, D7 "133,
the first-born of the poor, raeans the
very poorest. Comp. ny2 23, the
Jirst-bora of death, i.e. the most terrible
death, Job xviii. 13. The Arabs call

fevers, ree 8} wooly, the daughters of

fate, thereby meaning death, which
somewhat approximates to this idiom.
—w, root, in this verse, corresponds
in meaning to the same word as
occurring ver. 29; only it is there
applied to the royal house of Judah ;
whereas here it applies to that of the
Philistines. The metaphor is taken
from the vegetable kingdom.—17 is
to be taken impersonally, and rendered
passively.

31. Vitringa and Gesenius are of
opinion, that an Assyrian invasion of
Philistia is here predicted. There is
no necessity, however, for abandoning
the idea of the Jewish army marching
against the Philistines under Heze-
kiah. Considering the geographical
position of their country in relation
to that of Judah, there is precisely
the same propriety in describing the
Jews as coming from the North, as
there is in describing the Assyrians
and Babylonians as coming from that
quarter against Jerusalem. The pro-
phet repeats with much effect, mo.
722, which he had employed in the
introduction of the prophecy, ver. 29.
—By smoke ave meant the clouds of
dust resembling smoke, produced by
the march of an army.

“Ac simul Aineas fumantes pulvere
Campos

Prospexit longé, Laurentiaque agmina
vidit.”—Aneid, lib, xi. 908.

CHAP. ΧΥ͂.]

ISAIAH.

141

For out of the North cometh a smoke,
And there is no straggler among his hosts.
32 What answer shall then be given to the messengers of the

nations ?

That Jehovah hath founded Zion,
And in her the afflicted of his people find refuge.

—riyina ὙΠ} psi, There shall be no strag-
gler in his hosts. TB, Arab. do, ¢o

separate, be alone, expresses, in the
participle, one who is disjoined from
others, a straggling soldier, one who
from infirmity or weariness is obliged
to quit the ranks and lag behind.
wid, being derived from Ὁ), ¢o fix
a place or time of meeting, signifies
such time, or the assembly then and
there convened. In no other passage
is the term applied to congregated
hosts, but such seems clearly to be its
meaning in this place. The suff. in
yin refers to the 72, and Apia AWD,
ver, 29.

32. 132 is taken collectively by the
LXX., Aq., Symm., Theod., Targ.,
Syr., Saad.; and Kennicott’s Cod.
145, reads 0%3, which is right as to
the meaning. It was customary for
foreign powers to send. messengers to
any state with which they were at
peace, but which was carrying on war

in some other direction, to ascertain
the success of its arms. In the true
spirit of the theocracy, the reply to
such ambassadors, in the present case,
is, not that their arms were success-
ful, but that Jehovah was the Founder
of their state, and afforded them the
surest ground of confidence. Gesenius
and some others suppose Philistine
ambassadors to be intended, but this
seems less probable. —Instead of "N79,
messengers, the LXX., and the other
early Greek versions, ” read 20, kings ;

my, however, better agrees with the
former. The sentiment conveyed at
the end of the verse is, in such con-
nexion, quite compatible with trust
in God: trusting in what God has
done, or in what is his work, and
sufficient for the ends which he de-
signs by it, is virtually trusting in
himself. Very different was the false
confidence of the hypocritical Jews,
Jer, vil. 4,

CHAPTERS XV. XVI.

THE SENTENCE OF MOAB.

These two chapters contain one connected prophecy against Moan. The
Moabites, who were descended from Lot, occupied the region on the east of
the Dead Sea and the river Jordan, which had originally been inhabited by
the gigantic Emim. Previous, however, to the occupation of Canaan by
the Israelites, they were driven southward over the Arnon, which river
henceforth became their northern boundary. The Israelites spared them
on their march from the Arabian desert; and, for some time, they appear
to have lived on peaceable terms with each other; but in the days of the

5

142 ISAIAH. [CHAP. XV.

Judges hostilities broke out, in consequence of which the Hebrew tribes
beyond Jordan, and in the south of Palestine, were subjugated by the
Moabites eighteen years, Judg. iii. 14. The latter were then expelled from
the Hebrew territory; and were ultimately themselves brought into subjec-
tion by David ;. in which state they continued till they revolted along with
the ten tribes, and attached themselves to the house of Israel. Soon after
the death of Ahab, they refused the annual tribute, and succeeded in main-
taining their independence till the time of the Babylonian invasion, when,
in all probability, the prophecies contained in these chapters were fulfilled.
See Jer. xlvii.; Joseph. Antiq. x. 9. 7. They were idolaters, and worshipped
Chemosh and Baal-peor. Their idolatry was a mixture of sensuality and
cruelty, Numb. xxv. 1, &c.; 2 Kings iii. 27.

Several recent German writers ascribe the prophecy to Jeremiah. This Gese-
nius considers to be utterly inadmissible; yet, unwilling to allow that it
was written by Isaiah, he attributes it to some contemporary or earlier
prophet. At the same time he is obliged to grant, that it can hardly be
satisfactorily proved’ not to have been written by Isaiah. Comm. p. 509.
Hitzig is of opinion that it is the prophecy of Jonah, mentioned 2 Kings
xiv. 25.

The parallel portions of Jeremiah’s prophecy (chap. xlviii.) are in part verbally
the same with that contained in these chapters of Isaiah, and partly an
altered and amplified edition of it.

The subjects of the prediction are: the sudden attack and destruction of the
two principal cities of Moab, xv. 1; the universal distress and mourning
which ensue, 2—5; and the destitute and fugitive condition to which the
inhabitants of the country are reduced, 6—9. To procure admission, for
safety, into Judah, they are exhorted to pay the tribute which had been
withheld, xvi. 1; they then implore protection, assuring the Jews that their
extending it to them would meet with its reward in the perpetuity of the
kingdom, 2—5; on which the prophet reminds them of their former
treacheries, and utters lamentations over them of the most pitiable descrip-
tion, 6—11. The prophecy concludes with a declaration of the fruitless
application which the Moabites would make to their gods to deliver them,
12. The last two verses of the chapter contain a postscript, added; by some
unknown hand, only three years before the accomplishment of the pre-
dictions took place.

1 ASSUREDLY in the night of assault Ar-Moab is destroyed;

1. There is nothing answering to 5
in the LXX. and Syr., but this con-
junction frequently occurs at the com-
mencement of a prediction, in order
to express the certainty of its fulfil-
ment. See chap. xxv. 10. Calmet
conjectured, that in 72 the 3 has taken

the place of 3, so that the word may
originally have read 3, entirely ; and
this conjecture has been adopted by
Boothroyd and Jenour. There is,
however, no necessity for altering the
text. 2 is the less usual form of 72%,
night, in construction with 11, which

CHAP. XV. |

ISATAH.

143

Assuredly in the night of assault Kir-Moab is destroyed.
2 They go up to the temple, and to Dibon, to the high places, to

weep ;

Upon Nebo and upon Medeba, Moab howleth :

is a verbal noun, from the Infin. of
Pual. The verb, in the intensive con-
jugations, conveys the idea of violent
assault and destruction; yet is less
strong in signification than 7273, which
denotes utter extinction. Doderlein and
Dathe translate, wa nocte, supposing
the facility with which the destruction
was effected to be meant.—On 727,
see chap. vi. 5.——axinw, Ar-Moad.
Aq. and Symm. render 1, by πόλις,
which is its proper meaning ; but as it
is never used, in the singular, of any
city, but the metropolis of Moab, it is,
with Theod., to be retained as a proper
name. See Numb. xxi. 15 ; Deut. ii.
9 ; where it occurs without 18>. The
Greeks gave it the name of ’ApeozoNts,
in which its original Hebrew designa-
tion appears, though they seem to
have understood by the term uris
Martis. It was known by this name
as late as the sixth century, and was
then the seat of a bishop. It was
also called, on account of its size,
“Ῥαβαθμώμ and “Ῥαβαθμώμα, a corrup-
tion of asi2 N32, to which correspond
ἀν, Rabbah, and Le, Mab, of the

modern Arabs. It was situated at
some distance to the south of the
river Arnon. Its ruins were dis-
covered by Seetzen, among which he
found the remains of an ancient tem-
ple, consisting of portions of the wall
and pillars—asiavp, Kir-Moub, was
another Moabitish city, six or eight
miles south of Ar, the same as Dy V7,
chap. xvi. 11; Jer. xlviii. 31, 36; and
nw v?, chap. xvi. 7; 2 Kings 111. 25.
It was, as the name imports, the wall
or fortress of Moab ; LXX. τὸ τεῖχος ;
situated in the south of the country,
on a very steep, and, in many places,
perpendicular limestone hill, at the
commencement of a deep valley, called

Wady Karrak, Τὸ is now called 2) 0),

Karrak, or Kerek, and was known by
the same name to the Greek and
Roman writers of the later age.

Comp. Κάρακα, 2 Mace. xii. 17; and
Χαρακμῶβα, in Ptolemy and Stephen
of Byzant. It was a place of great
strength, and was occupied with ad-
vantage during the Crusades. Abul-
feda, in the fourteenth century, speaks
of it as impregnable. It is distant
from Ar-Moab about twenty miles ;
and, when visited by Burckhardt in
1812, was inhabited by about four
hundred Turkish, and one hundred
and fifty Christian families.—The two
principal cities being taken and de-
stroyed, all further resistance on the
part of the Moabites was hopeless ;
on which account no mention is made
of the destruction of any of the other
cities.

2. This and the following verses de-
scribe the universal mourning to which
the inhabitants of Moab abggoned
themselves ; and here, as at chap. xvi.
12, their application to their idols for
help is distinctly recognised.—After
the Targ. and Syr., Lowth rejects the
copulative 1 in 2), and connecting
}2rTMa3, so as to form one name, ren-
ders: “He goeth up to Beth-dibon.”
As we are not at liberty, however, on
such slender authority, to cancel the
4, and as the article in ™37 forms an
insuperable objection to such construc-
tion, this word must be taken by itself,
as indicating the place whither the
Moabites are said to have gone up.
Nor can there be any doubt that it
denotes the chief temple, or that of
Chemosh; the article distinguishing
it as that which was eminent. It is
called προ, the sanctuary or temple,
chap. xvi. 12. Comp. for such use of
ma, 1 Sam. v. 2, 5; Isa. xxxvil. 38.
What corroborates this view, is the
occurrence of nin39, the high places, in
the following clause ; which places of
idolatrous worship were common 1n
Moab and the surrounding countries.
Thus Balak first took Balaam up to
“the high places of Baal ;” then “to
the top of Pisgah ;” and afterwards
“to the top of Peor,” evidently on the

144

On all their heads is baldness ;

Every beard is cut off.

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XV.

3 In his streets they gird on sackcloth ;

principle of their being peculiarly ac-
ceptable as religious localities.—The
nomin. to πον, is Moab, understood, or,
the inhabitants taken collectively.—
prt, Dibon, spelt po, ver. 9, now called
Diban, was a town situated at some
distance to the north of the Arnon, in
a magnificent plain, and close to two
elevated hills, on which, in all proba-
bility, the nina here mentioned had
been constructed. It was built by the
Gadites, Numb. xxxii. 34, hence called
apm, Numb. xxxiii. 45, 46; it was
afterwards assigned to the Reubenites,
Josh. xiii. 17; but finally reverted to
the Moabites. By a common figure,
Dibon is here put for its inhabitants.
The 5 in ‘22? expresses state or con-
dition.—in, Nebo, was a mountain be-
longing to the chain of Abarim, near
the northern extremity of the Dead
Sea ; and x2?9, Medeba, a conical hill,
with afown of the same name built
upon its crest, at a short distance to
the south of Heshbon. Its present
ruins are about two miles in circum-
ference. The former mountain ap-
pears to have derived its name from
the Babylonian idol of that name, see
chap. xlvi. 1, and most probably was
the site of one of his temples.—D6der-
lein, Dathe, and Rosenmiiller, render
%, de, propter, and suppose the meaning
to be, that Moab howled on account of
the destruction of the cities so called ;
but there seems rather to be a refer-
ence to the inhabitants of the north-
ern plains having gone up to these
places for religious purposes, where
they mingled the most pitiable wail-
ings with their rites. The entire
‘structure of the verse favours this in-
terpretation.—”, here and ver. 3, a
peculiar punctuation of Hiphil, which
has not yet been satisfactorily ac-
counted for. The most probable rea-
son is, that it is a contraction of >>,
occurring chap. 111. 5, in which the
characteristic 7 is retained. Comp.
puim, for yw, 1 Sam. xvii. 47; 2778
for 2hx, Ps. xxviii. 7. Comp. also
ror, Job xxiv. 21, and »™, in Kal, Ps.

CXXxvili. 6; and see Gesen. Lehrg. pp.
388, 389, and Ewald’s Heb. Gram. §
284, Eng. trans.—Instead of ves,
three of Kennicott’s MSS. and two of
De Rossi’s, read Ux, but this is in all
probability a correction from Jer. xlviii.
37. One of De Rossi’s has om,
The punctuation is otherwise irregular
for 1s1.—Before %, twenty-two MSS.,
originally seven more, and now one ;
the Soncin. Ed. of the whole Bible,
and also that of the Prophets; and
the Targ., Syr., and Vulg., supply 1.—
Instead of 7173, the reading 273, which
is that of Jer. xlviii. 37, is found in
forty-nine MSS. and upwards of thirty
printed editions: while in Jer., 7273
is found in ten MSS., originally in six
more, and apparently in another. The
difference consists merely in the in-
terchange of the similar letters 7 and 5.
In YB, which signifies fo fell, cut down,
or hew, as a tree, there is something
violent as applied to the beard; where-
as, D2 signifying ¢o scrape or shave off
the hair, is the more appropriate term:
but as Gesenius remarks, the former
seems to have been purposely selected
by Isaiah, in order strongly to indicate
the harsh and barbarous manner in
which the operation would, under the
peculiar circumstances, be performed,
in opposition to slow and careful shav-
ing. The LXX. and Saad. decidedly
support the common reading. Cut-
ting off the hair, and removing the
beard, have been customary among
most nations as tokens of mourning.
Comp. Jer. xvi. 6; Amos vill. 10;
Micah i. 16.

3. γ᾽ Ὄπ, lit. fo bind a piece of sack-
cloth round the loins, but used, in a
more extended sense, for putting it
on the body generally. pv, a word
found in most languages, signifying a
coarse kind of cloth,commonly made of
hair, and used for sacks, but also for
garments, as indicative of humiliation,
self-denial, and especially of deep
mourning. It was worn on the death
of any relative, or person of conse-
quence, 2 Sam. iii, 31, and on occasion

CHAP. ΧΥ.ὕ

ISATAH.

145

On his house-tops and in his broad places they all howl;
They come down again weeping.
4 And Heshbon crieth out, and Elealeh ;
As far as Jahaz their voice is heard ;
Wherefore the warriors of Moab shriek ;
His soul trembleth within him.

of public calamities, Esth. iv. 1. So
great was to be the mourning in Moab,
that it would be everywhere visible—
on the flat roofs of the houses, and in
the broad streets and open places of
the cities, where the inhabitants would
be collected, mutually to bewail the
disastrous events.—There is in this
verse, as in verses 5 and 8,a change of
gender in the suffixes, which cannot
well be ‘expressed in a translation,
except by making them neuters, or
occasionally omitting them, when they
are not essential to the sense. The },
however, in Ynz17, clearly connects the
word with 289; while the 7 may have
a reference to the land, or to each
particular city,— TY or y8 being un-
derstood. “The idiom of our language
being opposed to such changes of gen-
der, it would be proper uniformly to
employ the feminine, as we do when
speaking of Britain, France, &c.; only,
in such cases as the present, in which
the names of countries are those of
male ancestors, it would be obviously
improper to adopt it.—222 τ, Le
Clerc, Gesenius, and Hitzig, render,
flowing down in tears ; but as it is only
of the eye that the Hebrews say, 772
my, ἐξ lets down tears, Jer. ix. 17, xiii.
17, xiv. 17, it is better to regard the
words as placed in opposition to 227722,
at the beginning of ver. 2. The in-
habitants found no relief from their
idols: no favourable oracle alleviated
their distress,

4, jaw, Heshbon, the ancient resi-
dence of the Amoritish kings, Numb.
xxi, 26. It was given successively to
the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the
Levites, but was taken by the Moab-
ites after the removal of the ten tribes.

Its remains, now called ones ass
ban, cover the side of a considerable

insulated hill, at the distance of seven
or eight miles to the north of Medeba.

Close by, there is an uncommonly fine
tank,—doubtless one of the pools of
Heshbon, Song vii. 4.—720?x, Hiealeh,
a town which also lay upon a hill, at
the distance of a few miles from Hesh-

bon, now called by the Arabs, (sl,

Ll-Aal—¥%, Yahatz, Jahaz, also 737,
Vahtza, UXX. Ἰασσά, Euseb. Ἴεσσά,
appears to have lain on the confines
of the desert, to the east of the two
cities just described, and north of
Bezer. See Deut. ii. 32; Josh. xxi.
36; 1 Chron. vi. 78 (Heb. 63). The form
yr τὸ marks it as being at the extre-
mity of the country.—ax%9 '29T; in Jer.
xlviii. 41, ΔΝ)» 133, the heroes, or warriors

of Moab. Ym, Arab. vals, bonus et

exquisitus fuit, bene se habet; to be ex-
pert, ready, active: here the Pahul part.
ready for war, prepared, armed; soldiers
girded with the military belt, and
otherwise fully accoutred. The LXX.
have ὀσφύς, by which Lowth appears
to have been misled to translate, the
very loins of Moab; but elsewhere they
render the word by ἐνωπλισμένος,
ὁπλίτης, πολεμιστής, μάχιμος, ἕο. See

Gesen., Thesaur. p. 482. Ἰμδω occurs

in Barhebreeus, in the same accepta-
tion. Some derive the meaning from
yu, in the acceptation of putting off
garments, &c.; and suppose that sol-
diers were so called, because they laid
aside everything that would impede
their activity in battle. The warriors
of Moab retain the name, though no
longer prepared for action—There is
a paronomasia in WY and mY, The
former is the Hiph. fut. of »m=vy,
to shout, make aloud noise; here, to utter
ashrick of despair : the latter agrees with

the Arab. ξ rp ey» to tremble, to be

in great agitation from fear. It occurs
only here in this acceptation; but is

140

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XV.

5 My heart crieth out for Moab;
Her fugitives wander to Zoar—to Eglath-Shelishiyah—
Yea, they go up the ascent of Luhith, weeping ;
In the way to Horonaim, they raise the cry of destruction.

elsewhere frequently used in the future,
signifying to be evil, sorrowful, vexed,
&e.

5. Before proceeding with his de-
scription of the universal lamentation,
Isaiah gives expression to his com-
passionate feelings on the occasion.
Comp. chap. xvi. 11, xxi. 3, 4, xxii. 4;
Jer. xxiii. 9. Lowth renders, Zhe heart
of Moab crieth within her; but for the
readings, 22 or 122, there is no MSS.
authority; and 777 is equally desti-
tute of the same support.—? 7¥3 would
most naturally be construed to mean,
cry out ¢o a person for help, as 1
Chron. v. 20; but > is frequently used
in the sense of, with regard to, on ac-
count of, and must be so taken here.—
For 773, which is defective, upwards
of sixty MSS., the Soncin. Bible and
Prophets, the Brix. and Complut.
texts, and that of the Basil Polyglott
of Isaiah, read in full, 773. As
ma signifies ὦ Jar, some render it thus
in the present instance, and explain it
of the princes, or protectors of Moab ;
but fugitives is a more appropriate
acceptation in this place—w¥®, Zoar;
Joseph. and Ptol. Ζωάρα, LXX. Σηγώρ,
under which name it is mentioned in
the time of the Crusades, was situated
near the southern extremity of the
Dead Sea, in the mouth of Wady
Kerak, and beyond the frontier of
Moab, in that direction. Its ruins
are described by Irby and Mangles,
Travels, p. 447. It was one of the
five cities destined to be destroyed by
fire and brimstone, Gen. xix. 22, 90,
Comp. chap. xiv. 2.—mPptn2, or, as
two of Kennicott’s Codices, and one
of De Rossi’s read, 8? Ty, has much
perplexed interpreters. It occurs only
here, and in the parallel passage, Jer.
xlviii. 834, where the LXX. appear to
have retained it as a proper name:
᾿Αγγελίαν Sadacia. Here they render
it, Δάμαλις yap ἐστι τριετῆς, Mor she ts
a heifer of three years old, and in some
such rendering, the Targ., Syr., and
Vulg., and most modern versions, con-

cur. Those expositors who adopt this
translation supply the verb ¢o Jow or
bellow, and refer it either to the fugi-
tives, or to the prophet. Hitzig refers
it to Zoar, with which he considers it
to be in apposition ; and is of opinion
that it received this name on account
of its diminutive size. He accordingly
translates, the cow of the third rank!
The natural position of the words cer-
tainly requires us to regard them as
forming a proper name—Lglath Sheli-
shiyah, or Eglah the third ; but, in all
probability, so called to distinguish it
from two other places named Lylah.
Gesenius compares Νέκλα of Etol,

”Ayanka of Joseph., and ὠὐξὸ . Πλείμη,

of Abulfeda. His objection to the
last being situated beyond the nor-
thern limit of Moab has no weight,
since it might have been the design of
the prophet to describe the Moabites
as fleeing both in a southerly and a
northerly direction. Indeed, the fords
of Arnon, and the waters of Nimrim,
which lay still further north, are spe-
cifically mentioned, ver. 6, and xvi. 2.
—Before mo nov, repeat 1, as ver.
8, or supply 1, in which case, 7Y will
be understood.—nm™, Lwhith, lying,
according to Eusebius and Jerome,
between Areopolis and Zoar, where
the region is mountainous, the phrase
mma my, the ascent of Luhith, is quite
appropriate. The article in m7 be-
longs properly to 72, which required
it, as a nominative absolute, to render
it more definite, see Ewald’s Gram.
§ 511.—Of oxnh, Horonaim, we know
nothing ; but, from its signifying
two caverns, it probably lay in the
same region with Luhith, which
abounds in caverns.—The anomalous
form vs is the fut. in Piel of the
root \Y, to wake up, raise, instead of
myw,—the harsh consonant 1 being
resolved or softened into a vowel, see
Ewald’s Gram. § 237. Such suppres-
sion of a repeated consonant is very
common in Aramaic. Gesenius thinks

CHAP, ΧΥ͂.]

ISATAH.

147

6 Because the water of Nimrim is wasted ;
Because the grass is withered, the herbage is consumed.

The tender plant is no more,

7 Wherefore the remainder of what they have acquired, and their

store,

Are carried beyond the brook of the willows.
8 For the-shout goeth round the borders of Moab ;

To Eglaim his wailing:

the original reading, 7%, may first
have been changed by mistake into
myi~’, whence the defective m2. Hahn
has received 72 into the text.—The
second 5 is pleonastic, and is omitted
by Jeremiah.

6. O22 "2, the waters of Nimrim, in
all probability the Nahr Nimrin, or
Wady Shoaib, which flows into the Jor-
dan, between the brooks Jazer and
Jabbok. Near its source was the city
called Nimrah, Numb. xxxii. 3, and
Beth-nimrah, ver. 36 ; the Βεθναβρὶς of
Eusebius. Gesenius comparesthe Arab.
pes shes clear, healthy, flowing water,
and justly concludes, that the luxuri-
ance of the meadows in the vicinity
was owing to its fertilizing influence.
On its desiccation by the enemy, comp.
2 Kings ii. 25, sterility must neces-
sarily have ensued.—nv20n, desolations,
in the abstract : nowhere else applied
to water; but as the verb ΘΟ signifies
to waste away or perish, a8 the conse-
quence of making desolate, the terms
here used with effect. The conjunc-
tion 3 repeated, introduces the causes
of the flight described in the preced-
ing verse. The naked accumulation
and brevity of the concluding triplet
is exquisite,

7. Before tvy, supply Wx.—D WA oT
has been variously rendered. The
LXX., Syr., Saad., Doéder., the brook
of the Arabs; the Vulg., with most
modern versions, and approved by
Gesenius and Winer, the brook of the
willows ; Hitzig, the brook of the plains:
but the word is never thus applied,
except in the feminine. Some of the
Rabbins, Le Clerc, Lowth, and Dathe,
comparing Ps. cxxxvil. 2, suppose
Babylon to be meant, and make the
enemies of Moab the nominative to

DX”, which seems forced. The river
or brook intended, is most probably

that of Zered, called [ως] ols,

Wady el-Ahsa, by Burckhardt, which
he describes as dividing the district
of Kerek from that of Djebal, and
flowing into the Dead Sea near Zoar,
at the commencement of the wide
valley called H/-Ghor. As it formed
the proper boundary between Moab
and Edom, it lay in the way of the
inhabitants who fled southward, in
order to take refuge in that country
or in Judah. Whatever they could
rescue, both of their flocks and herds,
and of other moveable property, they
conveyed across that river, beyond
which they might hope the Babylo-
nians would not proceed. , for
which two MSS. and Vulg. read 79,
has here the signification of beyond,
with respect to place. In oN, the
Mem is the original intensive form of
the third person plural; but as it was
also used as the suffix, it came to be
changed into Vwz, and then commonly
rejected.

8. A reason is here assigned for the
removal: the cry of distress was not
confined to one part of the country,
but went round the entire boundary.
-ὐὐϑν, Eylaim, and Ὁ ΩΣ, Beer-elim,
appear to have been situated the one
to the south, and the other to the
north, of the Moabitish territory.
The former is doubtless the same as
DY pr, Ln-eglaim, Ezek. xlvii. 10, which
must have lain at the southern termi-
nation of the Dead Sea, since Engeddi
lay pretty far north on its western
margin. The change of 8 and ¥ is too
frequent to create any difficulty. Beer-
elim has, with some shew of reason,
been referred to 3, Beer, mentioned

148 ISATAH.

[CHAP. XVI’

And to Beer-Elim his lamentation.

9 ‘Though the waters of Dimon are full of blood,
Yet will I bring additional evils upon Dimon ;
Upon the escaped of Moab I will send a lion,
Even upon those who are left in the land.

CHAPTER XVI.

1 Send ye the lambs of the Ruler of the land,

Numb. xxi. 16, as one of the Hebrew
stations to the north-east of Moab.
Before OX w3, subaud. τὸ, as in ver.
5.—It is doubted whether the 7 in
ny” be the pron. suffix. The Mappik
is wanting in fourteen of De Rossi’s
MSS., in the Soncin. Edit. of 1488, and
two other printed editions. Aurivillius
thinks the form is that of the inten-
sive paragogic, as ny, Ps. 111. 3;
my, cxxv. 3; but it seems preferable
to adopt the construction of the
ancient versions, and refer it, as a
suffix, to the land of Moab.—The
repetition of 72” has a very different
effect in Hebrew from that of the
same word repeated in English; on
which account I have employed a
synonyme in the second instance.

9. Jehovah declares that fresh cala-
mities awaited those who had made
their escape. It is generally agreed,
that by ji", Dimon, the same place is
meant which is called ji24, Didon, ver.
2; but it would be unwarrantable,
with Déderlein, to alter the text, as
the present reading is supported by
all the collated MSS. except two, and
by the ancient Greek versions. Je-
rome mentions that the name was
pronounced both ways in his time;
and the frequent change of the B and
M by the Arabs, in pronunciation,
renders more than doubtful the con-
jecture of Vitringa, that the word
was purposely written fio in this
place, in order to form a paronomasia
with 01 following. I should rather
imagine it was produced by the occur-
rence of Ὃ immediately before.—n1ppi3,
Vulg. additamenta, i.e. evils, calamities,
as the connexion sufficiently shews.—
Supply mtx before 72 %2).—Z ion, or
collectively lions, is to be taken figu-
ratively of powerful and destructive
warriors. Déderlein is of opinion that

Alexander the Great is meant. The
renderings of 78 and 7978, by ᾿Αριὴλ
and “Adaya, which we find in the
LXX., and which Lowth adopts, can-
not be defended. The position and
connexion of the words evince that
they cannot, with propriety, be thus
construed.

Cuap. xvi. 1. Anticipating an appli-
cation to the Hebrews on the part of
Moab, the prophet, to bring the inha-
bitants of the latter country to a
sense of their failure in fulfilling their

former engagements, calls upon them

to pay the tribute which was due.
From 2 Kings iii. 4, 5, it appears
that, till the death of Ahab, the king
of Moab rendered to the king of
Israel an annual tribute of a hundred
thousand lambs, and a hundred thou-
sand rams, with the wool. It is, in
all probability, to some such tribute,
which had been withheld, that refer-
ence is here made: 23, damb, being
used collectively for lambs. Comp. 2
Chron. xvii. 11, where we read of the
Arabians sending large flocks to Jeho-
shaphat; and 2 Sam. viii. 2. On the
slender authority of the Syrian version,
and a couple of MSS., Lowth reads 73,
son; and changing the tense of the
verb, on that of the LXX. and Syr.,
renders, [ will send forth the son of the
ruler of the land. He is followed by
Michaelis, Déderlein, Hensler, and, in
part, by Dathe; but still, though 73
has since been found in two or three
additional MSS., it is not entitled to
adoption. “The lambs of” means,
the lambs dwe fo the ruler of the land,
i.e. of Judah. They were originally
sent to the king of Israel; but Isaiah
knew of only one legitimate king of
the Hebrews, whose residence was, as
here expressed, on Mount Zion.

By v0, Sela, “the Rock,’ LXX.

CHAP, XVI.]

From Sela into the desert,

ISATAH.

149

To the mountain of the daughter of Zion.
2 For as a fugitive bird, banished from its nest,
So shall the daughters of Moab be at the fords of Arnon,

[saying,]

Πέτρα, it is now generally agreed, is
meant the city of Petra, afterwards so
celebrated, anciently the metropolis
of Arabia Petrza, but in the posses-
sion of Moab at the time referred to
by Isaiah. Its magnificent ruins have
recently been discovered by Burck-
hardt, by whom, and by Legh, Irby,
and Mangles, it has been described,
but still more minutely by Laborde
and Linant, whose work contains
splendid engravings of the ruins.
Dr. Robinson has also given a very
minute and interesting account of it
in his Biblical Researches, vol. 11. pp.
518—534. It is situated in the Wady
Mousa—a valley with a stream, in the
mountainous district called Djebal
Shera, (Seir,) two long days’ journey
north-east of Akaba, and nearly the
same distance from the southern
extremity of the Dead Sea. Here, in
an area enclosed by red sandstone
rocks, are found mausoleums, temples,
statues, colonnades, obelisks, a trium-
phal arch, an amphitheatre, &c., all of
the most gigantic and imposing dimen-
sions. The rocks on all sides are full
of excavated sepulchres; and on every
hand are marks of ancient magnifi-
cence. To no place could the name of
Sela, or Petra, with greater propriety
have been applied: the foundations
and ruins of the houses are found on
both sides of the brook which flows
through the Wady, covering an area
of nearly two miles in circumference.
According to Burckhardt, every thing
indicates that a large city once existed
here. ‘Travels, p. 437. Besides the
present passage, it occurs. 2 Kings
xiv. 7, and, not improbably, Isa. xlii.
11. It is mentioned, or partly de-
scribed, by Diodorus Siculus, xix. 95;
Strabo, xvi. 4, 21; Pliny, vi. 28 or 32,
and freq. by Josephus. It also occurs
in the Acts of Councils as the see of
a bishop, but appears to have been
in ruins before the time of the Cru-
sades; since which period it remained

totally unnoticed till discovered by
Burckhardt, on his route from Damas-
cus to Egypt, in 1812.

The 7 in 7379 being local, has by
some been thought to present a diffi-
culty, in regard to the application of
the passage to the country between
Petra and Jerusalem; but Strabo
expressly states, that, beyond the
mountainous enclosure in which the
former city is situated, the whole region
ts a desert, and particularly that towards
Judea; ἔρημος ἡ πλείστη, καὶ μάλιστα
ἡ πρὸς ᾿Ιουδαίᾳ. Ut sup. Into and
through this desert it was necessary
to send the flocks before they could
reach Jerusalem. Comp. 2 Kings
111. 8.

2. Before j2 supply 2; thus connect-
ing the word with 1 ἢν, and not
taking M2 jp by itself, which does
not yield so good a sense; and the
adverb 13 must be understood before
mm. It was most likely omitted on
account of its agreement in sound
with ἢ, which occurs immediately
before.—axi9 ΓΞ means the Moabitish
females, and not the towns or villages
of Moab, as some interpret. In a
geographical description of a country,
and in connexion with the names of
towns, 123, daughters, denote the sub-
urban villages, or smaller towns de-
pendent upon them; but never in
connexion with the names of nations.
See Judg. xi. 40; Gen. xxviii. 8; 2
Sam.i.20. To render the case more
affecting, the women are represented
as having fled to the rightful boundary
of the country, and applying to the
Jews for protection.—pns? nN2y2, Mi-
chaelis improperly renders, auf’ Leiden
Sviten des Arnons, as if the Moabitish
females had taken their station on
both sides of the river. The formative
conveys here, as usual, the idea of
the locality in which the action ex-
pressed by the verb takes place, from
which the substantive is derived; i.e.
the passages, or fording places; and ths

π'

150

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XVI.

3 Furnish counsel ; give decision ;
Yield thy shade, like that of night at mid-day ;

Conceal the outcasts ;
Betray not the fugitives.

connexion shews, that only the south-
ern bank of the Arnon is meant.
This river takes its rise in the moun-
tains of Arabia Deserta, and flows in
a westerly direction into the Dead
Sea. Its banksare described by Seetzen
and Burckhardt as consisting of preci-
pitous and barren rocks, which give it
a most romantic appearance. It formed
the northern boundary of Moab; and
at present, under the name of Wady
Mujeb, τὸ divides the province of Belka
from that of Karrak. The 5 in
yw? marks the dative of possession,
and is to be resolved by supplying x
before it. Comp. 1 Sam. xiv. 16; Job
xil. 6, 8—At the close of the verse,
ax?, saying, is omitted. See on chap.
111. 6.

3. This and the two following verses
are usually considered to bea hortatory
address to the Moabites, in reference
to their conduct towards those Jews
who might take refuge with them
during intervening periods of calamity.
Such exegesis is gone into at large by
Vitringa. It was also formerly adopted
by Rosenmiiller, but he has abandoned
it in the last edition of his Commen-
tary for that first suggested by Theo-
doret, which is advocated by Lowth,
Michaelis, Déderlein, Dathe, Gesenius,
and Hitzig; viz. that the passage con-
tains an application, on the part of
the Moabites, to the Jews for shelter
and protection. This interpretation
alone gives consistency to the passage.
The principal objection to it is drawn
from the term ‘7, ver. 4, which,
according to the punctuation and
accent, must be rendered, “ My out-
casts,’—a phrase which can only
properly apply to the Jews. Agree-
ably, however, to the construction
found in the LXX., Targ., and Syr.,
the word is to be connected with the
following, thus, 28'9 ‘173, ‘he outcasts
of Moab. Gesenius, who, with the
other authorities just mentioned,
adopts this construction, compares a
similar instance of erroneous division

by the punctators, Gen. xlix. 26, where
we read τὸ 7, instead of 17 for WY ὙΠ.

Coverdale has, the persecuted Moabites.

The phrase 722 3837, furnish or bring
counsel, implies that the Moabites
could no longer contrive any means of
escape, on which account, in their
last extremity, they apply to the Jews
for advice. Comp. 2 Sam. xvi. 20.—
m5 is a ἅπαξ rey. Hitzig, in accord-
ance with the primary idea of the
root % 8, fo divide, renders, evercise
intervention, and explains the phrase
of the interposition of the Jews
between the Moabites and their ene-
mies; but though this interpretation
may seem at first view to be borne
out by the connexion, it is totally
inadmissible, on the ground of the
intimate relation in which 7% Wy
stands to 7zy wit, of the leading
idea conveyed by which, it is only a
more emphatic mode of expression.
The term is properly judicial; and as
the decisions of a judge are commonly
the result of wisdom and discernment,
and so to be depended on, the Moabit-
ish fugitives wished to have a decision
on which they might rely, advice
which they might safely follow.——
myo md, Though $3 is placed before
bz, it is to be construed with what
follows. The protection yielded by
the Jews to the suppliants would be
as the coolness of night, if it could be
enjoyed during the intensity of meri-
dian heat. War and persecution are,
in Scripture, frequently compared to
fire or heat. No emphasis is to be
sought for in 7\n3; it is merely in this
and similar cases a synonyme for 3.—
Instead of 3727 and Wy, the Keri
reads, ἜΣ and ‘wy in the fem. singular,
which is the gender and number of
the other verbs in the verse. Though
at first view they might seem to be a
correction of some editor or copyist,
for the purpose of producing uni-
formity ; yet, as they are respectably
supported, there is reason to believe

CHAP. XVI.]

ISAIAH.

151

4 Let the outcasts of Moab dwell with thee ;
Be to them a shelter from the destroyer :

For the oppressors shall fail,

And the destruction shall be finished,
And those who trod us down consumed from the land.
5 Thus shall the throne be established in mercy,
And there shall sit thereon in truth, in the tabernacle of David,
A Judge, who will attend to justice,

And be prompt in equity.

6 We have heard of the haughtiness of Moab—he is very

haughty—

His haughtiness and his pride and his insolence :

False are his pretensions.

they exhibit the original reading.
27, found in nine MSS., and originally
in two more, and the reading of the
Complut. Bible, has the suftrages of
the LXX., Targ., Syr., Vulg., and Arab. ;
‘vy is the reading of fifty-five MSS.,
and originally of one more; the an-
cient, and a number of subsequent
editions, and is borne out by the
LXX., Syr., Targ., and Vulg. The
sense is the same according to both
readings.

4, For 189 ὙΠῚ), see on the pre-
ceding verse.—The rest of the verse
anticipates the destruction of the
Babylonian invader, and the return of
the Moabites to their own land, here
called yIN7. Υ is the part. of jy", Zo
press, oppress. Comp. Ὁ, Prov. xxx.
33.—DD is a particip. noun collective,
and so agreeing with 79m in the plural.

5. The ) at the beginning of the
sentence is inferential, and introduces
the apodosis to the appeal made in
the two preceding verses. “ Render
us the protection we solicit, and your
doing so will, iz consequence, tarn to
your own benefit; the exercise of
kindness will secure the prosperity
and perpetuity of the Davidic throne,
and the happiness of all the subjects
of the Jewish state.” The fugitives
urge this consequence as an induce-
ment to the Jews to afford them
shelter.—1 57k is the same as ΤῊ 20,
Amos ix, 11, and 1 ™3, Isa. vii. 2, 13.
—That 707, éinduess, is used of human
clemency, as well as of the Divine,

requires no proof. Comp. 2 Sam. x.
2; Hos. vi. 6; Micah vi. 8.’ The retri-
butive influence of its exercise upon
the throne is taught by Solomon,
Prov. xx. 28. Though 707 and nox
frequently occur in connexion with
each other, and both terms are em-
ployed in the present verse, and the
one may have been suggested by the
other, yet they are too far apart to
admit of the usual construction. ΤῸΝ,
truth, is to be construed along with
avy, and is expressive of perpetuity.
Comp. D728) and 7283, Deut. xxviii.

59.—017, in such connexion, signifies
to be assiduous in application, to be occu-
pied with, attend to, any thing—?Ts V2
is to be quick or ready in matters of
equity, prompt in giving a righteous
decision.

6, This verse contains the grounds
of the refusal which the Moabites
should meet with from the Jews: the
proud rebellious spirit which the
nation of Moab had cherished, and
the hollowness of its pretensions,
with respect to its future relation to
the Jewish state,—Four different
forms of the same word are here
employed, the more emphatically to
express the overbearing pride of the
Moabites. With the use of the
adopted French word haufeur, it may
be imitated thus: “We have heard
of the haughtiness of Moab; (he is
very haughty;) his high-mindedness,
and. his hauteur, and his insolence.”—
Ὁ is not here a particle of comparison,

152 ISATAH.

[CHAP. XVI.

7 Therefore Moab may howl for Moab,

The whole of it may howl;

For the ruins of Kir-Hareseth ye may moan,

Wholly afflicted.

8 For the fields of Heshbon are withered ;

As for the vine of Sibmah,

but a participial adjective, signifying
Jirm, right, true: 8, unstable, untrue,
Jilse. O73, mere talk, pretensions, boast-
ings, from 113, to talk idly, babble, Arab.

AY or ad, to originate, produce some-

thing new, and by an easy transition,
to speak falsely, feignedly, &c. Comp.
Job xi. 3; and for parallels, Jer. xlviii.
29; Zeph. ii. 8—10.

7. 122, therefore, i.e. on account of the
refusal of the Jews to give an asylum
to the Moabites, the latter would
abandon themselves to renewed lamen-
tation, nop, Air-hareseth, another
name for Avr-Moab, chap. xv. 1, and
written, WV, Kir-heres, ver. 11. It
is mentioned 2 Kings iii. 25; and,
from its being there stated, that the
Hebrews “left the stones thereof,”
when they subdued it, it is clear that
wy 15 adopted into the name on
account of the baked bricks with
which the wall was built. The word
otherwise signifies an earthen vessel,
or fragments of the same.— Dx,
Joundations, is changed, Jer. xlviii. 31,
into "28, men, which Lowth, Dathe,
and Boothroyd, adopt. The LXX.,
too, have τοῖς κατοικοῦσι; but it is
evident that the difference of reading
is to be traced to the derivation of
ower, from wx, and its being consi-
dered as a reduplicate form of Dx,
for which was substituted the more
common form ox. As, however,
there is no various reading in the
text of Isaiah, the laws of criticism
require that we endeavour to ascertain
the meaning of the word; and, if it
can be ascertained, to translate and
interpret it accordingly. Now it so
happens, that the Syriac version, in
preserving, in a great measure, the
form of the original term, has likewise

preserved its signification. Δα]
9

to which corresponds the Chald. inwR,

Ezra iv. 12, v. 16, and the Heb. nite,
Jer. 1. 15, signifies foundations, and
thus harmonizes with the Arab.

Ll, Lele, Jundamentum struc-
ture, &e. Gol. κἱ, in the 2d conj.

signifies, fo make firm, found, ἕο. 'To
this interpretation Rosenmiller re-
turns in his last edition, and it is
adopted by Winer, Gesenius, and Hit-
zig. The meaning of the prophet,
therefore, is, that the Moabites would
specially mourn on account of the
destruction of their principal fortress,
—nothing being left but the fownda-
tions, or 7uins.—O'ND) FX is to be referred,
not to Dwwx, immediately preceding,
—the verb 823=12), to smite, beat down,
being inapplicable to foundations,—
but to the Moabites, the nominative
to the verb 77. The particle x,
before adjectives, signifies, only, wholly,
entirely, as Deut. xvi. 15.

8. 3 introduces a statement which
contains additional reasons for the
lamentation.—— ox — ΠΟΘ, a fem.
plural construed with a mascul. sing.
verb; forming one of those instances
in which, as Ewald expresses it, the
sense predominates over the external
grammatical form. Comp. Hab. iii.
17. 78 occurs only in the plural,
and but seldom. It is not found in
any of the cognate dialects; but the
connexions in which it is used suffi-
ciently vouch for the meaning of fields,
occupied either with grain or vines.
That the latter are here intended, is
clear from what follows.—722¥, S7d-
mah, according to Jerome, was only
half a Roman mile distant from Hesh-
bon, and is mentioned on account of
the superior excellence of its grapes.
Seetzen found the vine still cultivated
in those parts.—As the verb 027 is
unquestionably used metaphorically
in reference to intoxication, chap.

CHAP. XVI.]

ISATAH.

153

The lords of the nations have broken down its noble branches ;
They reached unto Jazer; they strayed into the desert ;
Its tendrils spread themselves out,

They passed over to the sea.

9 Therefore I will weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of

Sibmah ;

I will make thee wet with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh ;
For upon thy summer and thy harvest falleth the battle-shout.
10 Joy and exultation are taken away from the fruitful field ;

xm. os) Prov, xxii ao; Lowth,
Jenour, and others, suppose it to be
employed in the same acceptation
here, and render, “ overpowered,” or
“made drunk, the lords of the nations ;”
but such a construction cannot be
justified from the context, which re-
quires something to be expressed in
this clause, to correspond to the
withering of the fields in the preceding.
The word properly signifies, to deat or
strike with a hammer; hence ΠΡΌΣ, a
hammer; and well expresses in this
place the havoc made by the Babylo-
nians, who were at the time, D2 °2P3,
the holders of all but universal empire.
—The rest of the verse describes in
highly poetic language the luxuriant
growth of the vines. In order to their
propagation, they needed no props,
but stretched spontaneously in the
direction of Jazer and the Arabian
desert, towards the east, and in that
of the Dead Sea, towards the west.
um, Jazer, is placed by Eusebius ten
Roman miles westward of Philadelphia,
the ancient capital of the Ammonites,
and fifteen from Heshbon. Its re-
mains are supposed to be those men-
tioned by Seetzen, under the name of

hes Ssir. The 0, sea, spoken of, is

by some interpreted of a lake or sea in
the vicinity of Jazer; but as there is
no appearance of any in that region, it
seems preferable to refer it to the
Dead Sea, the only water which, in
such connexion, deserves the name.
It is true, the reading in Jer. xlviii.
32 is, WOW Ὁ HI, they pass over the
sea; to the sea Jazer, &c.; but there is
reason to believe the second = is an
interpolation. It is omitted in two of
Kennicott’s MSS., and was not read by

the LXX.—The phrase 129 does
not mean that the vines actually shot
across the sea; that scions were con-
veyed thither for plantation; or that
the wine was transported thither for
use: but simply indicates that they
passed on fo it .as their limit. That
av may signify, fo pass over an interven-
ing space, before reaching what is
pointed out by the following accusa-
tive, is clear, from chap. xxxi. 9; Jer.
ii. 10; Amos vi. 2; and that such
must be the meaning here, is equally
clear, from the use of the adverb ἽΡ in
the preceding line. The LXX., under-
standing the word in this sense, ren-
der: διέβησαν yap πρὸς τὴν θάλασσαν.

9. The weeping of Jazer, means the
great distress of the inhabitants of
that city, on account of the destruc-
tion of the vines by which they were
plentifully supplied with grapes and
wine. It is not unlikely that their
means of subsistence were chiefly
derived from this source.— "8 is the
Piel of ™, to drink, satiate; by trans-
position, for ΣΝ, fo saturate with
moisture.—1T0 is used in two different
senses in this and the following verse.
Here it signifies the victorious shout of
the enemy; but in ver. 10, the joyful
shout or acclamation of the vintagers
treading the grapes. The former had
taken the place of the latter. Rosen-

miller compares the Arab. Xs, which _
is chiefly used of the noise made by
the sea upon the shore; hence ἕω,
thunder. Lowth’s emendation of V3?
and 7 into v2 and 77% cannot be
sustained.

10. "92, see chap. x. 18. YY, not
from Yy3, but the Palel of 24, which in

Ξ- τὸ

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XVI.

And in the vineyard is no joyful cry, no shouting ;
The treader treadeth not the wine in the vats;
The vintage-shout I have made to ¢ease.

11

Therefore my bowels shall sound like a harp for Moab ;

My inward parts for Kir-Hares.

12 And it shall come to pass that though Moab present himself,
Though he weary himself upon the high place,
And enter into his sanctuary to pray,

Yet he shall not prevail.
13
14

This is the word which Jehovah spake concerning Moab of
.old; but now Jehovah speaketh, saying,

Within three years, as the years of a hireling,
The nobility of Moab shall be diminished,
With the whole of the great multitude ;

Hiphil, Palel, and Hithpalel, is em-
ployed in the sense of shouting, making
a loud or joyful noise. On 3x, see chap.
v.2. In Wilkinson’s Ancient Egyp-
tians, vol. 11. p. 152, and Rosellini’s
Monuments of Egypt, are representa-
tions of persons treading out the
grapes. Some six or seven, holding by
as many ropes suspended from a com-
mon hook in the ceiling, stamp in the
press or upper trough, and thus press
out the juice, which flows into the
troughs below.

11. Comp. Jer. iv. 19, xxxi. 20. In
Hebrew, Oy? is often used in cases in
which we should say, breast, bosom,
&e.; but it is quite the language of
nature.

12. Gesenius observes a parono-
masia in 793, and m872,—the simple
variation in sound being produced by
the different liquids Ἢ and >. In the
combination, however, of the two
terms, there is nothing of that draw-
ling with which he charges the con-
struction; for, as he himself shews,
the former is the appropriate word by
which to express the appearance of
men before their God for the purpose
of worship, &c.; and the latter ex-
presses the fruitless fatigue and trouble
to which idolaters submit in worship-
ping a deity from which no aid can be
obtained. Comp. 1 Kings xviii. 26,
ὅθ. For the same reason, we must
reject Secker’s conjecture, that 72%
is an interpolation.

13, 14. That these verses refer to
two distinct prophecies cannot be
disputed. The only difficulty respects
the time of their delivery. Hither the
words are those of Isaiah, in which
case he specifies two different periods
at which he received oracular an-
nouncements to deliver against Moab,
or, as Hitzig supposes, a prophecy
delivered by some more ancient pro-
phet, which Isaiah quotes, and then
adds the definite specification of time
with respect to its fulfilment; or they
are those of a later prophet, whom
the Lord employed to repeat the
words of Isaiah three years before the
completion of the prophecy. That
the latter is the more probable bypo-
thesis, appears from the use of the
word w», from that time, which never
stands absolutely, as here, except to
denote anciently, at some remote former
time. Considering, indeed, the long
period during which Isaiah prophe-
sied, it is quite possible that he may
have received the two predictions,
with a long interval between ; but the
expression would be more appropriate
in the mouth of a prophet who
flourished upwards of a hundred years
after his death. Besides, we know of
no invasion of Moab, or destruction
of its cities, in the time of Isaiah;
and the appropriation of his prophecy
by Jeremiah to what was still future
at the time the latter prophet wrote,
affords convincing proof that the

CHAP. XVII.|

And the remnant shall be very small and powerless.

same events are predicted by both.
It may, therefore, be concluded, that
the words were added, by Divine
inspiration, through the instrument-
ality of some prophet who lived within
three years of the Babylonian invasion,

—VId 120, the years of an hireling, denote

ISAIAH.

φ

which the hired labourer is to perform
his work, and beyond which it will not
be protracted—22, which commonly
signifies glory, is here, as contrasted
with 7129, the multitude, to be taken in
the sense of nobility, or honourable men.
Comp. chap. v. 14.

the pertain, Jjived, or definite time in
----

CHAPTER XVIL

THE SENTENCE OF DAMASCUS.

Chapters xvii. and xviii. form another connected prophecy, but contain matter
relating to several nations. The whole is entitled, “The Sentence of
Damascus,” because it commences with denunciations against that power,
1—3; but the fate of Ephraim is almost insensibly mixed up with it, on
account of the confederacy which existed between them, 3—6. The bene-
ficial effects of the Divine judgments upon the remaining Israelites are
described, 7, 8; and then, 9—11, a more affecting description is given of
these judgments, and their cause expressly stated. We have next, 12—14,
an exhibition of the Assyrian army rushing forward against Jerusalem, and
its sudden and miraculous destruction. To this wonderful intervention of
Jehovah for the deliverance of his people, the attention of the nations, and
especially of Egypt and Ethiopia, is summoned, xviii. 1—3; a highly
wrought metaphorical description of the discomfiture of Sennacherib, with
whom the Ethiopians were at war, is then presented, 4—6 ; and the section
concludes with a prediction of presents which that people would, in conse-
quence, forward to Jerusalem, in honour of the true God, 7.

The different parts of the prophecy cohere both in point of subjects and
chronology. The destruction of Damascus was effected by Tiglath-pileser,
B. C. 736, who immediately thereon invaded the kingdom of Israel, and
carried away many of the inhabitants into Media and Assyria. The punish-
ment of the latter kingdom was still further inflicted by the Assyrian
power, under Shalmaneser, B.c. 722; and within twenty years afterwards,
Sennacherib undertook his celebrated expedition against Tirhakah, king of
Ethiopia, and Hezekiah, king of Judah, when, as here predicted, his army
was completely overthrown by the miraculous power of Jehovah, and he
returned to Nineveh, See chap. xxxvii. 36, 37.

1 Bexoip, Damascus shall be removed from being a city ;

1. pw97, in the Books of Chronicles now commonly Las), Damascus, the

poo, Syr. econo}, Arab. ened, metropolis of Western Arama, or

156

ISATAH.

[CHAP, XVII.

And shall become a heap of ruins.
2 The cities of Aroer shall be deserted ;

They shall be for flocks,

Which shall lie down, and none shall alarm them.
3 And the fortress shall cease from Ephraim,
And the kingdom from Damascus and the rest of Syria;

As the glory of the children of Israel shall they be,

Saith Jehovah of Hosts.

Syria. It was a city in the days of
Abraham, Gen. xiv. 15, xv. 2. Its
kings, after the time of Solomon, were
frequently engaged in hostilities with
the Jewish and Israelitish monarchs ;
and at length, in the reign of Pekah,
entered into a confederacy with that
usurper against Judah. It suffered
most severely during the invasion of
Tiglath-pileser, by whom the popula-
tion were removed beyond the river
Kur, in the north of Media. After
this, its fates have been various, in
the time of the Greeks, Romans, Ara-
bians, Saracens, Crusaders, and Turks,
by whom it has been successively con-
quered. It is now in the hands of the
Egyptians, and is the capital of a
pashalic of the same name. It is situ-
ated on the Chrysorrhoas, now called
Barady, in a large and beautiful plain,
atthe foot of Antilibanus, and is one
of the most opulent cities of hither
Asia. The population amounts to
upwards of 100,000.—12, before the
participle 197%, indicates futurity ; see
chap. vii. 14; Gen. 1. 5; 2 Sam. xx.
21; Jer. xxvii. 16, xxxvili. 22.
yyp= Ty nvm, from being a city, 1.6. 50
as not to be what it had been; but on
the contrary, Ὁ, a heap. This latter
word, which occurs only here, is equi-
valent to, a heap of ruins, and both are
derived from τῆν, /o overthrow, destroy.
The peculiar form ‘?9 is purposely
chosen, to make it correspond to Vy»,
and so to produce a paronomasia.

2, wv ~w the LXX. render εἰς τὸν
αἰῶνα, as if their copy had read 1772y.
This rendering Lowth adopts, on the
grounds, that neither of the two cities
called Aroer, in the tribe of Gad, and
on the Arnon, can have anything to
do with Damascus; and that “the
cities of Aroer,” if Aroer is itself a

city, makes no good sense. It is clear,
however, from 1 Kings xxii. 3, and 2
Kings x. 33, that the Syrians of
Damascus smote the Israelites in the
whole of the mountainous tract be-
tween the Arnon and Bashan; and
they may have been in possession of
the principal towns at the time Isaiah
prophesied, But it is not necessary
to connect what is contained in this
verse with Damascus. It rather refers
to the removal of the Israelites who
occupied the country beyond the Jor-
dan by ‘Tiglath-pileser, recorded 2
Kings xv. 29; where, it is obvious,
Gilead is to be taken in its most ex-
tensive sense, as comprehending all
the territory just mentioned. This
depopulation the prophet foretells,
after having predicted the destruction
of Damascus, and then proceeds, in
the third verse, to combine the two
confederate states in the same over-
throw. The phrase Wi "2, the cities of
Aroer, is just as intelligible as ji2e7
Ww, Heshbon and all her cities, Josh.
xiil. 17; reference being had in both
cases to other towns in the vicinity
connected with, or dependent upon
them.

3. By the fortress of Ephraim, some
understand Damascus, on account of
the aid which that city afforded to the
ten tribes ; but the juxta-position in
which it stands with the kingdom
of Damascus, immediately following,
shews that Samaria and other fortified
places must be meant. Comp. Hos.
x. 14.—The most natural division of
the verse is that made by the Maso-
rites, and adopted in our common
version, by placing the Athnach under
daw. This of course renders altogether
nugatory the conjecture of Houbigant,
which Lowth follows, by which πὸ is

CHAP. XVII. |

ISATAH.

157

4 And it shall come to pass in that day:
The glory of Jacob shall be brought low ;
And the fatness of his flesh become lean,
5 And it shall be as when a harvest-man gathereth the standing

corn,

And reapeth the ears with his arm ;
It shall even be as the gleaning of ears,

In the valley of Rephaim.

For gleanings shall be left in it, as in the olive-harvest ;

Two or three berries on the top of a high tree;

Four or five on the branches of one that is fruitful ;
Saith Jehovah, the God of Israel.

to be changed into nxv. “The glory
of the children of Israel” means, not
their glory in the plenitude of its pos-
session, but in its diminished and,
reduced state, as described in the
following verse. Both kingdoms were
to share the same fate.

4, apy, Jacob, is here used in a re-
stricted sense, in application to the
ten tribes. Comp. Hos. xii. 2; Micah
i.5. For the rest of the verse, com-
pare chap. x. 16; only, in the present
case, the metaphor is not to be con-
fined to the captains of the Israelitish
army, but comprehends the rich and
prosperous portion of the community.

5. ὍΣ, harvest, may stand for Ux
Y32, a harvestman, or it may be taken
as a noun adjective with the same sig-
nification, like ΘῈΣ, 122, ΤΌΤ, &c. Before
yt supply 3. Comp. 3, Ps. xxiii. 2.
The different actions of the reaper
and gleaner are designed to convey
the idea of total consumption. Such
metaphorical allusions to the harvest,
in reference to the destruction of the
inhabitants of a country, are frequent
in Scripture—The valley of Rephaim
lay to the south-west of Jerusalem,
but near it, on the confines of Judah
and Benjamin. It was about fifteen
stadia in extent, and of great fertility.
Its name appears to have been de-
rived from its having been originally
occupied by a section of the ancient
Canaanitish giants. Comp. Josh. xv.
8; 2Sam. v. 18, 22, xxiii. 13,

6. In order still farther to set forth
the extent of the devastation, but yet

to intimate, that, in the sparing mercy
of God, some few of the inhabitants
should be left, the prophet borrows
an image from the olive-harvest.—i3
refers to 27%, ver. 4.—ni%¥, gleanings,
from Ὧν, to do any thing a second time,

to do it thoroughly ; Arab. Je, biben-

dum dedit secunda vice, post priorem
haustum, 2d ΟΠ]. ; bibit iterum ite-
rumque, ef ita carpsit fructus, Gol. For
the enallage generis, see chap. xvi. 8.
—™1 Fp, lit. the beating of the olive-tree,
in allusion to the mode of reaping the
olives, by beating the branches with a
stick, and thus causing the berries to
fall off. In such a process, it often
happens that a few are left unobserved
by the reapers. Comp. Deut. xxiv.
20; Isa. xxvii. 12, where 027 is em-
ployed to denote the same action.—
on, derries generally, here olives or

olive-bexries. Chald, 272; Arab. 5:15.

faba, but used here by Saadias for
olives. It seems properly to be an
intensive form of 73, a small corn,
bean, berry, or grain.— V8, a towering
branch; UXX. ἐπ’ ἄκρου μετεώρου ;
Vulg. ix summitate rami. The etymo-
logy of the word is best illustrated by

reference to the Arab. peel 9 Emir, duc,

princeps, one who is at the head of
others.—The 7 in 72x may be the
suffix anticipative of 7, more Ara-
maico; or the words ought to be
divided and read thus: 57 ‘pyD,
Before 7 is an ellipsis of Υϑ or ™.

U

158

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XVII.

7 In that day shall a man have regard to his Maker,
And his eyes shall look to the Holy One of Israel :

8 And he shall not have regard to the altars, the work of his hands,
Nor look to the things which his fingers have made—

7,8. Under the pressure of calamity,
the remnant of the people would be
brought to a conviction of the folly of
idolatry, and abandon its rites for
the worship and service of the true
6οα.--πνῷ, Ger. schauen, among other
significations, denotes fo look to any one
for help—The in DAT OWN is to
be rendered distr ibutively : either—or.
Comp. Exod. xxi. 17. These two words
describe the principal objects of Pha-
nician and Syrian idolatry, as artificial
representatives of their prototypes in
the planetary system: the one class
of images representing Baa/, or the
Sun ; and the other, ds/ar/e, the Moon,
or Venus. 77x, of which νῶν is the
mas. plur, (ΘΟ or O°"D3, émuges, being
understood), has most commonly been
rendered groves; and, from the fact
that groves were anciently chosen for
purposes of religious, and especially
of idolatrous worship, it has generally
been maintained by expositors that
such are here meant. It has, how-
ever, been shewn by various authors,
and especially, of late, by Gesenius,
that this signification will not suit
many of the passages in which the
term occurs ; and that, in others, the
idea of a grove is next to absurd.
There is nothing in the word itself,
etymologically considered, or in any
of its cognates, that would suggest
such an idea. Nor is the acceptation
temple or shrine, one whit better sup-
ported. Though commonly rendered
ἄλσος by the LXX., whence, through
the Vulg., the signification of grove
has crept into the modern versions,
yet they have rendered 71x by ᾽Ασ-
τάρτη, 2 Chron. xv.16; ᾿Αστάρται, XXIV.
18. Aq. and Symm. “have also more
than once translated it in the same
way; and even the Vulg. itself has
Astaroth for nivdx, the fem. plur. form,
Judg. iii. 7. To the interpretation
which would assign Asfarle as the
meaning, it may be objected, that this
goddess is called πῦρ, Ashtoreth, in
Scripture, and her images, ninavy,

Ashtaroth; but itis no unusual thing in
mythology for gods to have more than
one name, all of which, however, are
significative of some peculiar quality
or operation. With respect to njnAvy,
it is now a settled point, that it cor-

responds to the Persic sin, and the
Zabian Syriac 13 δου], and signifies the

Star, 1. e. by way of eminence, in a
religious point of view. Mx, on the
other hand, signifies fortune, happiness, |
or the goddess by whom they were
conferred. This the Phcenicians and
Syrians considered to be Venus, or the
female generative principle, the com-
panion and spouse of Baal, or the sun :
though, according to Lucian, De Dea
Syr. 4, and Herodian, V. vi. 10, the
Moon had this honour ascribed to her.

The late Dr. Minter was of opinion,
that originally the Moon was wor-
shipped under the name of Astarte,
but that, in process of time, it came
to be transferred by the licentious
Syrians to Venus. The word thus
agrees with the Heb. Wx, Ws, Aappi-
ness, and the verb Wx, fo go forward,
prosper, be happy, &c. The worship of
this goddess was destructive of female
virtue, and otherwise consisted of
many licentious rites. Her image had
the form of a woman, with the head
and horns of a bull, to which there is
an evident allusion in the very ancient
name, Ashteroth-Karnaim, i.e. the two-
horned Ashteroth, Gen. xiv.5. From
the frequent references made to this |
worship in the Old Testament, it is
clear that the Hebrews, especially the
ten tribes, whose territory bordered on
Pheenicia and Syria, were, at times,

much addicted to 1Ὁ.-- 91, the other
term here employed, is derived from

oon, to be hot; hence ΠΌΤ, the solar
heat, Ps. xix. 7, and the Szx himself,

Job xxx. 28; Isa. xxiv. 23, xxx. 26:
That images or statues erected for the
worship of the Sun are meant, is
placed beyond all doubt by Gesenius,

CHAP. XVII. ]

ISAIAH.

The images of Astarte, or the pillars of the Sun.
9 In that day his fortified cities shall be
Like what is left of the thickets and the tall forests,
Which were left before the children of Israel :
Yea, each of them shall be desolate.

in his recent work on Pheenician lite-
rature. On a stone found in Malta,
is the Punic inscription, j28 2am 5y2, 70
Baal Hamén, a stone. Another reads:
Δ ὙΠ ὮΝ MT bya ΣΥΝ) 2 2) nbn an?
ον 32 eT mnw, To our Lady
Tholath, and our Lord Baal Hamdan, a
man vows to the goddess of fortune—the
writer—Ben Ebed-milkar ; and so others
that might be- quoted. These two
inscriptions not only contain the word
of our text, and that in connexion
with Baal, but the latter has likewise
Astaroth and Gad, both denoting For-
tune in an idolatrous sense. See Isa.
lxv. 11, where ἼΣ15 improperly rendered
troop in the common translation, <Ac-
cording to Spencer, 11. 25, the most
ancient images of the Sun erected by
the Egyptians, Syrians, and Pheeni-
cians, were conical or pyramidal in
shape, resembling arising flame. Aiéos
δὲ Tis ἐστι μέγιστος, κάτωθεν περιφερής,
λήγων εἰς ὀξύτητα: κωνοειδὲς αὐτῷ σχῆμα
μέλαινά τε ἡ χροία. Herodian. V. 11].
10. Besides the present instance,
ons and Dy are combined, chap.
xxvil. 9, and in connexion with D%y3,
2 Chron. xxxiv. 4, 7.

9. The suffix in 1¥9, refers to Jacob,
ver. 4. The rest of the verse involves
no small difficulty. . The ancient trans-
lators, as well as the moderns, have
been perplexed by it. Aq. renders
wasn wim, festa et Emir; Symam. sylva
et Amir ; Theod. Ars, or Hores et Amir.
The LXX. reversing the order of the
words : of ᾿Αμοῤῥαῖοι καὶ of Evaiot, i. 6.
the Amorites and the Hivites, which is
adopted by boththe Lowths, Michaelis,
Struensee, Koppe, Dathe, Eichhorn,
and Boothroyd. This rendering is,
however, decidedly and justly rejected
by Déderlein, Gesenius, and Hitzig, as
having no foundation in the Hebrew
text. The Syr., Saad., and Hitzig,
consider the words to be the names of
places; yet as 1 clearly appears,
from Ezek, xxxi.3; 1 Sam. xxiii. 15,

16; 2 Chron. xxvii. 4, to signify ὦ
dense wood, thicket, or such like ; comp.

Chald. xtvn, Sam. YX, wood ;

and as YX occurs, ver. 6, in the
sense of a fall tree, it is most natural
to assign to it the same signification
in this place: so that, regarded as
collective nouns, the former will de-
note such woods as consist of low
trees or shrubs, the intertwisting
branches of which form thickets ; and
the latter, forests of tall and stately
trees, as cedars, pines, &c. There is
at least more consistency in this in-
terpretation than in that of Gesenius,
who considers the latter word to sig-
nify the summit of a mountain—
my Ws, lit. which they left; but as
there is no antecedent, it 1s better to
render the verb passively, as Job vii.
3, xxxii. 15. See Gesen. Lehrgeb. p.
798; Luke xii. 20. At the same time,
there seems no reason to doubt, that
reference is had to the native Canaan-
ites who were compelled to abandon
their country on its occupation by
the Hebrews ; so that 82 1212 forms a
constructio preguans,—“which they left,
(when they fled,) before the children
of Israel;” or, passively, “which
were left,” when they, i.e. the Canaan-
ites, fled before, &c. The allusion is to
the woods and forests, which covered
a great part of the country, at the
time the Israelites took possession οἵ
it, but which had afterwards, with
few exceptions, been cut down. So it
should be with the fortified cities of
Israel—mn, the fem. sing. though
construed with Ὁ, the plur. mas.,
because the subjects spoken of are in-
animate. Such construction of the
plural, technically called the pluralis
inhumanus, is predominant in Arabic.
Other Hebrew instances occur, Ps:
XXXviil. 31; Job xiv. 19, xxxix, 14.
See Gesen. Lehrgeb. p. 719.

100

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XVII.

10 Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation,
And hast not remembered the Rock of thy strength ;
Therefore thou mayest plant pleasant plants,

And set a foreign shoot.
11

In the day when thou plantest it, thou mayest hedge it in ;

And in the morning, what thou hast set may blossom ;
But the harvest shall flee away,
In the day of pain and desperate grief.

12

Ho! the noise of many peoples,

They make a noise like the noise of seas ;

The roaring of nations,

Like the roaring of mighty waters, they roar.

13
roar,

As for the nations, like the roaring of many waters they may

But he shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far away ;

10. In yo there is a reference to
hyn, ver. 9. If the Israelites had
served Jehovah, they would -have
found in him that defence which none
of their fortified cities could yield
them ; but having forsaken him, they
had nothing to expect but disappoint-
ment and misery.—The fem. gender
is here introduced, and continued to
the end of the following verse, which
closes the section. OY, of common
gender, is understood.—vz, Rock, is
frequently employed metaphorically as
a Divine name. See Deut. xxxii. 4,
15, 18, 30, 31 ; Isa. xxvi. 4; 1 Cor. x.
4, The antithesis between the true
God, and the “pleasant plants” and
“foreign shoots,” clearly shews, that
by the latter are meant the idols which
the Israelites had imported from Phoe-
nicia and Syria, and the sinful alliances
and gratifications connected with their
worship. 793, is a collective.—»n, Zo
sow, is here, as chap. xl, 24, used for
planting.

11. -x070n, the Pilpel of 2%, the
same as JR, AD, 72v, to hedge, surround

with a hedge, Arab. rom coronatus, et re

aliqua, tanquam corona, cinctus fuit.
The derivation from 22% cannot be sus-
tained.—»¥ in the sense of sapling or
scion. Comp. on 3, ver. 10.—7 is the
Benon. participle of 1), fo flee away,

vanish, and strikingly expresses the
complete disappearance of all the ad-
vantages which the Israelites expected
from their idolatrous connexions. In-
stead of these, they were to reap pain
and sorrow of the severest description.
——im. The close connexion in which
this word stands with tx 1x2, shews
that it is not to be taken in the sense
of possession, from 2, but is a parti-
ciple noun fem. in Niph. from ΠΤ, ¢o
be sick, in pain, &c., only the Hateph-
Patach must be changed into Sheva.
Thus 7m, Jer. xiv, 17, xxx. 12, and
two of the Erfurt Codices, have the
same punctuation in this place. In
this way, too, the Syr. and Saad. con-
strue the passage. Gesenius, following
the LXX., Aq., Symm., and Vulg., ren-
ders, day of possession.

12,13. With the former of these
verses commences a new subject, which
is prosecuted to the end of chap. xviii.
Having brought to a close what he
had to deliver respecting the punish-
ment of Syria and Ephraim by the
Babylonians, the prophet makes a
sudden transition to the invasion of
Juda by the army of Sennacherib ;
and while he describes in strong lan-
guage its terrific approach, he predicts
its sudden and complete overthrow.—
17, ho/ an exclamation here used to
call attention to the Assyrian army.

CHAP. ΧΥΠῚ.]

ISAIAH.

161

They shall even be chased like the chaff of the mountains before

the wind,

And like the whirling stubble before the hurricane.
i4 At the time of evening, behold terror !

Before morning, they are no more!

This is the portion of them that spoil us;

And the lot of them that plunder us.

The repetition of the same terms gives
pathos to the passage. It is true, the
first five words of ver. 13 are wanting
in seven MSS., originally in another,
and in the Syr., which has excited the
suspicion, that as they are nearly iden-
tical with the last member of the pre-
ceding verse, they have been repeated
by some inadvertent transcriber. Be
this as it may, the text, as it stands in
the printed editions, agrees with that
from which the LXX. translated ; and
the repetition is found in all the other
versions, the Syr. alone excepted. On
the supposition of its genuineness,
Gesenius finds in it a climactic rhythm,
a species of Hebrew poetry, according
to which, a subsequent verse resumes
and repeats the closing words of the
preceding. The comparison of the
tumultuous noise of an army to the
roaring of the sea, which Isaiah had
already employed, chap. v. 30, is fre-
quently used in the Psalms and the
prophets.—The reference in the suff.
12 and the corresponding singular of

the verbs 52 and ΤΊ, is to Sennacherib
understood.—The “chaff of the moun-
tains,” is the chaff carried off by a
sudden and violent gust of wind from
the threshing-floor, which was usually
situated on some hill or elevated place.
—23, from 3, fo roll, forcibly ex-
presses the rolling accumulations of
stubble, dust, &c. which are borne up-
wards into the air, during a hurricane.
No metaphor could more aptly de-
scribe the sudden destruction of the
hostile army. See my Biblical Re-
searches, p. 395.

14, A strong antithesis. Comp. Ps.
xxx. 5. The verse concludes with a
shout of exultation over the downfal
of the enemy, which strikingly ex-
presses the feelings of the inhabitants
of Jerusalem on the morning of their
deliverance. See chap. xxxvu.36. The
1 before 28, which fifteen MSS. and
two of the early editions exhibit,
though countenanced by the LXX.,
Syr., “Targ, . and Vulg., can scarcely be
considered genuine.

CHAPTER XVIII.

While considerable obscurity hangs over certain parts of this prophecy, it
nevertheless presents several points which serve as distinct landmarks for
the guidance of the interpreter. That it is not a separate or disjointed
portion of the book, may be maintained on three grounds: First, it is not
introduced as a distinct prophecy, which is the case with all the other pro-
phetic oracles contained in chaps. xiii—xxiii. Secondly, it is not denuncia-
tory of judgment upon the nation to which it refers, which is likewise the
case with those oracles. And, thirdly, vers. 4—6 are so obviously parallel
with chap. xvii. 13, 14, that they can only with propriety be viewed as

162 ISAIAH. [CHAP. XVIII.

referring to the same event. It must, therefore, be connected with the
three last verses of the preceding chapter; and, according to the unstrained
explanation of the geographical and other features which it exhibits, and
the historical circumstances of the period, there is no country to which it
can consistently be applied but Ethiopia. At the time Sennacherib invaded
Judea, which was towards the close of the fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s
reign, the king of Ethiopia was Tirhakah, a monarch of great military
renown, (Strabo, xv. 1. 6,) whose figure, name, and the expedition which he
undertook against Sennacherib, are recorded on the walls of a Theban
temple. Wilkinson’s Ancient Egyptians, vol. i. p. 140. According to the

Phonetic alphabet, his name is TH PK, or, as found on the ruins of

Medinath-Abu, and those of the mountain Barkal, in Abyssinia, "TH PKA.
See Rosell. Mon. ii. tab. 8. Succeeding Sabacho, and Sevechus or So, he
also reigned over Upper Egypt; and, in all probability, had his residence at
Thebes. As the ultimate object of Sennacherib was the conquest of Egypt,
Tirhakah, being informed of his approach, set out with an army to attack
him. See 2 Kings xix. 9; Isa, xxxvii. 9. While on the point of taking
Jerusalem, the army of the king of Assyria was miraculously destroyed;
and as this event was not only of immense importance politically, but
calculated to draw the attention of the surrounding nations to the character
and claims of Jehovah, it was proper that messengers should be despatched
to the principal powers, and especially to Tirhakah, who was more than
ordinarily interested in the fate of the Assyrian army. The despatch of
these messengers, and the result which followed, form the subject of the
present chapter.

1 Ho! thou land of rustling wings,

1. One grand source of the mis-
interpretation of this chapter has
been the false idea which many have
attached to the interjection "7. In-
stead of rendering it o/ as a call,
summoning attention, which the con-
text requires, most translators have
improperly followed the οὐαὶ of the
ancient Greek versions, and given it
in terms which express threatening.—

ww. About the meaning of
divided. Many, adopting the idea
expressed by the LXX., γῆς πλοίων
πτέρυγες, Which is also that dilated
upon in the Targ., consider the wings
to signify the sails of ships, and apply
the passage according to their favourite
hypotheses —as Ludovic. Legionensis
to the Spanish fleets carrying out the
Rowish missionaries to South America,

and Horsley to Britain employing her
navy in carrying back the Jews to
Palestine! Some refer 752) to Aneph,
an Egyptian idol with wings; while
others conjecture that the sis¢rwm, or
winged cymbal, which the Egyptians

used at their sacrifices, is intended. —

As 3333 may be referred to 55, in the
sense of shadowing, it has also been
supposed that it may apply to Egypt,
on account of the two ranges of
mountains by which it is enclosed;
or, to the regions between the tropics,
where the shadow falls now towards
the north, and now towards the south,
in the course of the day; or, finally,
to the protection which Egypt pro-
mised to the Jews. But all these

‘modes of solution seem fanciful and

farfetched: so that we are reduced to
the construction first suggested - by

CHAP. XVIII.]

ISAIAH.

163

Which art beyond the rivers of Cush ;
2 Which sendest ambassadors by sea,

Symm. οὐαὶ γῆς ὁ ἤχος mrepwros; and
Hct ecuian the pide, either of the
rustling noise made by the wings of
locusts, which greatly abound in Egypt,
or of that made by the arms of soldiers
when engaged in battle. To the
former of these interpretations, which
is that of Hiller, Michaelis, and others,
it must be objected, that it would not
afford any characteristic description
either of Egypt or Ethiopia, since
locusts abound fully as much in other
countries of the East. The latter,
which is ably supported by Gesenius,
is alone entitled to adoption. 052) we
have already found to be used in
application to an army, chap. viii. 8;
and the reduplicate form of 727%, which
nowhere occurs in the acceptation of
shadow, onomatopoetically expresses
the idea of tinkling, clanging, or rustling,
and is used, Job xl. 31, of the /ish-spear
or harpoon, and in the plural, D22x, to
denote cymbals, 2 Sam. vi. 5; Ps. el. 5.

Comp.the Arab. (uo , sonuit cum tinnitu

JSerrum, and wale, cum tonitru quodam

souuit; hence (hale, tintinnabulum.

To no country could the words at the
time more aptly apply than to Ethio-
pia. Its armies were exceedingly
numerous. If, as there is reason to
believe, Zerah, mentioned 2 Chron.
xiv. 9 (Heb. 8), was king of the African
Ethiopians, that people was able to
bring into the field, in the reign of
Asa, not fewer than a million of men,
“a huge host with very many chariots
and horsemen,” 2 Chron. xiv. 8.
And Tirhakah was so celebrated as a
mighty conqueror, that Megasthenes
mentions his having advanced as far
as the Pillars of Hercules, and classes
him along with Sesostris and Nebu-
chadnezzar. Strabo, xv. 1. 6.--ΡὉ
wa 1, beyond the rivers of Cush.
Comp. Zeph. ii. 10. Vitringa and
others, among whom Hitzig, ineffec-
tually attempt to give to “Ὁ 23y9 the
sense, ov this side of. It always sig-
nifies what lies beyond some sea, river,
&e. which is supposed to be between

it and the person speaking. Comp.
Deut. xxx. 13, and for 12, Judg. xi,
18; Jer. xxv. 22, Hence yma uy, and
HT Wy, uniformly signify the opposite,
ἢ. 6. the east side of the Jordan and the
Euphrates, when used by a writer or
speaker living to the west of these
rivers. The instances in which it
marks the countries to the west of
them, either contain some qualifying
term, or place the speaker on the east
side. That by 3, Cush, according to

the Phonetic alphabet, E6WW, we

are here to understand what is com-
monly called Lthiopia, now known by
the name of Abyssinia, and neither
the Arabian Cush, nor that which lay
towards the Caspian Sea, is generally
agreed. It was situated on the west
side of the Red Sea, and comprised
the regions above Syene, including
Nubia and Kordofan. It was at times
subject to the Pharaohs; at other
times, Upper Egypt was subject to its
monarchs. The latter was the case
when Isaiah wrote. A dynasty con-
sisting of the three kings, already
mentioned, reigned over Ethiopia, and
Pathros or the Thebaid, for the space
of forty or forty-four years, till the
latter was recovered under Psamme-
ticus. “ The rivers of Cush,” are the
three principal streams, _anciently
denominated the Astaboras,the Astapus,
and the Astosabas, Strabo, xvii. i. 2, and
Pliny, and now known by the names
of the Tucazee, the Mareb, and the
Bahr-el-Abiad. The Astaboras and the
Astapus surrounded the large island,
or rather peninsula, Meroé, on which
was built the celebrated city of the
same name. These rivers, flowing
through the northern parts of Ethi-
opia, are here appropriately called by
its name; while the country itself,
lying for the most part to the south
of them, and enclosed by them on the
north, is with equal propriety said to
116 Jeyond them.

2. A further description of Ethi-
opia. The masc. of the Partic. mt
agrees so far with yx, ver. 1, that it
borrows from it the idea of people,

164

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XVIII.

And in vessels of papyrus on the surface of the waters:
Go, ye swift messengers, to the nation drawn out and plucked ;
To the people terrible from the first and onward ;

which is masc.; so that there is a
constructio ad sensum. That 0 and
oy are here synonymous is more than
doubtful. From their bordering on
the Red Sea, the Ethiopians must
have carried on a maritime intercourse
with the opposite coast of Arabia, and
eastwards in the direction of India, if
they did not trade with that country
itself. To this it has been objected,
that the small papyrus boats, men-
tioned immediately after, were alto-
gether unsuitable for navigating the
Red Sea; but it is carefully to be
noticed, that Isaiah does not state that
the ambassadors who went by sea
proceeded in such boats; he takes it
for granted that they would use larger
vessels, and confines the former to ¢he
waters, i.e. οἵ the Nile, and other
rivers in the interior. For this use of
ao, see Exod. vii. 15, viii. 6—As DE
is used of images, chap. xlv. 16, Bo-
chart, Phaleg. iv. 11, supposed that
the prophet refers to an Egyptian
custom of annually carrying an image
of Isis from place to place on the
rivers; but ambassadors or messengers,
—which the word clearly signifies,
Proy,:xins 17. xxvs 19; ‘Isa. lit) 9.
Jer. xlix. 14; Obad. 1; in most of
which passages it is, as here, con-
strued with the verb 2¥,—yields a
much more suitable sense. The vast
power and extensive influence of Tir-
hakah would require an incessant
transmission of despatches to foreign
parts, the facilities of which by water
were great,—Nxpin% the LXX. strangely
render ἐπιστολὰς βιβλίνας, though,
living in Egypt, they must have been
familiar with what is expressed by the
words. Koppe, however, conjectures
that the words originally read ἐπὶ
στόλοις βιβλίνοις. The versions of
Aquila, ἐν σκεύεσι βιβλίου ; Symm. διὰ
σκευῶν παπυρίνων; Theod. ἐν σκεύεσι

παπύρου ; the Syr. Ala? ffse= :
and the Vulg. iz vasis papyri; give the

true sense. Reeden skiffs were very
common in Egypt; and also, according

to Heliodorus, in Ethiopia Proper.
They were made of the Egyptian reed
called papyrus, the cyperus papyrus of
modern botanists, to which the He-
brews gave the name of xi, from the
circumstance of its being porous, and
thus absorbiny much moisture. 893,
absorpsit, to drink up; Hiph. to give
to drink. It was this material of
which the vessel was constructed to
which Moses was committed, Exod. ii.
3. Being exceedingly light, and so
small that commonly they held only
one person, they sailed with great
velocity on the surface of the water,
ovo75"79; and when the persons who
navigated them came to a cataract, or
to a place where the stream was dried
up, they carried them on their shoul-
ders till they could again embark.
See Pliny, xii. 11, vi. 56; Lucan.
Pharsal. iv. 36; Plutarch de Is. et
Osir. § 358; Theophrast. Hist. Plant.
iv. 9; Wilkinson’s Ancient Egyptians,
vol. 11. p. 185; Kimchi and Lee on
Job ix. 26, where such vessels are
called 728 n¥IN, reed-vessels ; and
Gesen. iz loc.

Tn Ὁ» DIN, sift messengers, there
is reference to the DY, ambassadors,
and to the swiftness with which they
proceeded on their embassies in the
papyrus boats. The prophet calls
upon these to go with all celerity to
Ethiopia, to announce the wonderful
interposition of Jehovah for the de-
liverance of the Jews. Information
would first of all be conveyed to Tir-
hakah and his army in Egypt, and
then to the Thebaid and Ethiopia ; so
that the whole nation would become
acquainted with the way in which
their formidable enemy had been over-
thrown. Ezek. xxx. 9, is partly pa-
rallel in point of language, but the
subject is altogether different.— a
worm Fro, Gesenius renders actively,
the nation robust and valiant ; Hitzig,
tall in growth, and glossy, which he ap-
plies to the Macrobian Ethiopians ;
though he is inclined to translate ΠΣ Ὁ,
long-lived, in reference to their longe-
vity. But the ancient versions re-

CHAP. XVIII. |

ISATAH.

165

The nation powerful and victorious,
Whose country the rivers divide!

present the words as passive partici-
ples. In this verse, indeed, the LXX.
have ἔθνος μετέωρον, but in ver.7, where
the same words occur, λαοῦ τεθλιμμένου

ὶ τετιλμένου ; Syr. . an
kal iS μένου ; Syr. mqtnic? ses
pe0S0; Vulg. gentem convulsam et di-

laceratam ; Targ. 872) NOUN NOY, With
respect to Jon, Gesenius, abandoning
the usual significations of drawing,
drawing out, &e., which attach to Ὁ,
attempts to establish that of being
strong, firm, &c., but fails in making good
his point, as may be seen by comparing
the passages which he adduces in
proof in his larger Lexicon. The verb
seems evidently to express the state
of the Ethiopian nation, during the
extensive wars of Tirhakah, when the
mass of the people were drawn out, or
taken away from their occupations
and homes; or, as Grotius expresses
it, “cujus magna pars in longinquis ex-
peditionibus occupata est.” It is used
in a military acceptation, Judg. iv. 6,
xx.37. The interpretation of Vitringa,
Lowth, Dathe, and others, which con-
siders the term to be descriptive of
the great length of Egypt, is quite
aside from the mark ; since it is the
people, and not the country, that is
here the subject. Wo may either be
a subst. derived from ὍΣ, or a con-
tracted form of the Pual Part. 2390,
from 672, which signifies to pluck, tear
out or away, as the hair, &c., and is here
used to describe further the condition
to which the Ethiopians were reduced
by war: the best part of the popula-
tion being forced to take the field —
That oY, people, is identical with *3,
nation, and that Gesenius is wrong in
supposing two nations to be meant,
appears from the repetition of 3, im-
mediately after. The words are used
synonymously of the same people.—j2
TIM NT, lit. from it and edie; is here
employed in a temporal, and not in a
local sense, which would not at all suit
‘the connexion. Comp. Lev. xxii. 27 ;
1Sam. xviii. 9; Nah. i1. 8 (Heb. 9). The
phrase is expressive of extreme an-
tiquity. That the Ethiopians must

anciently have been a very enterprising
and formidable people, is evident from
their having taken possession of so
large a portion of Africa, founded the
large cities of Axum, Adule, Meroé,
and Thebes, and acquired vast quan-
tities of the precious metals, partly by
mining, and partly by commerce and
conquest. There may even bea refer-
ence to their history long anterior to
their emigration across the Arabian
Gulf. wp. No attempt to inter-
pret these words, according to the usual
acceptations of 12, has given satisfaction.
Gesenius happily illustrates them by

comparing the Arab. 48, power, domi-

nion, which was first suggested by
Aurivilius. The repetition is inten-
sive, as in WB, 3.3, &c. That they are
properly one word, in a reduplicate
form, may be inferred from the occur-
rence of the same form, 92° and 03,
in verses 1 and 5 of this very chapter.
—non, trampling, treading down, in
reference to their treading their ene-
mies under their feet. That both
nouns are to be understood in an
active sense, appears from the use
of νι), ¢errible, just before—x is a
ἅπαξ λεγ. Most translators, both an-
cient and modern, consider it to be
the same as 3, to plunder, spoil, which
four of Kennicott’s MSS. exhibit ; and
expositors give the meaning, spot/, de-
stroy, in reference either to the land,
or the people, according as they take
rivers in a literal or a figurative sense.
All such interpretations, however, are
at variance with the connexion, which
requires an idea to be expressed
favourable, and not injurious to the
people spoken of. I am, therefore, in-
duced to adopt the rendering of
Gesenius, ¢o cut, divide, comparing

ma, yea, Arab. ξ pp as in De Sacy’s

Abd-Allatif. p. 579: δ,» Ul ¢ 5)» the

water burst forth at the aperture, &e.
Besides the three large rivers already
noticed, ver. 1, which may be said
rather to flow round, than to divide
the country of Abyssinia, it is inter-

x

166

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XVIII.

3 All ye inhabitants of the world,
Even ye that dwell on the earth :
When the standard is raised on the mountains, look ye!
And when the trumpet is sounded, hear ye!

4 For thus hath Jehovah said to me:
I will sit calmly and look on in my dwelling-place ;
It may be like the serene heat in sun-shine,
Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest;

5 But before the harvest, when the blossom is gone,
And the flower has become a ripening fruit,
He shall cut off the twigs with pruning-hooks,
And the shoots he shall remove by cutting them off.

sected by a vast number of minor
streams, whereby its fertility is greatly
promoted. See the Travels of Bruce,
Riippel, &c.

3, 4. Though the following message
was specially to be sent to the Ethio-
pians, it was to be published far and
wide. All the nations are, therefore,
summoned to attend to the position of
the Assyrian army around Jerusalem.
The siege is just about to commence,
when the prophet receives the revela-
tion, that how threatening soever the
aspect of things may appear, Jehovah
is not affected by it, but views, in im-
perturbable majesty, the puny attempt
of the enemy of his people. <As it
regards the Babylonians, everything is
promising: their plan is ripened, as
the fruit is by intense sunshine and
the copious dews of night, and they
are on the very point of carrying it
into effect, when Jehovah interposes
and frustrates it—The 2 before ἘΠ
and 3Y expresses similitude, and is not
to be taken as a particle of time in
this place. The reference in the sub-
stantive verb understood, is not to
Jehovah, but to the prosperous ap-
pearance of the Babylonians.—x, Vi-
tringa, Lowth, Déderlein, and recently,
Boettcher, render herbs, and others,
after the Rabbins, rain ; but it is to
be taken, as Hab. iii. 4, of the shining
of the Sun. Thus the versions, with

the exception of the Syriac, if ou

be not a mistake for }ioaa-—Ten

MSS., originally three more, and now
three, the LXX., Syr., and Vulg., read
ysz ΟΞ, ἐμ the day of harvest, instead
of ὙῈΡ ba, while there is, or, in the heat
of harvest. The common reading is
more appropriate.

5. ‘21s here adversative. 0m does
not express the perfection of the blos-
som, but its ceasing to exist. Comp.
Ezek. xlvii. 12. 103 properly signifies
unripe, ΟΥ̓ sour grapes; in the dialects
it is used more extensively of all un-
ripe fruit, on account of its acidity.
ΠῈΣ is the subject of the proposition ;
but owing to the transposition, ™7
follows in gender the mas. of the pre-
ceding predicate, instead of being put
in the fem. to agree with 722. Inde-
pendently of this, however, the verb.
may be in the mas., as occurring before
the noun. Ewald, p. 352. There is,
therefore, no necessity, with Lowth,
to regard the 7 in 72) to be the pron.
affixing, at the pause for 107, from un,
a ἅπαξ dey. but evidently allied to the

Arab. .. to cut off; and placed abso-

lutely, without a copulative, after the
manner of the Syriac. The significa-
tion is given by the LXX. ἀποκόψει.----
The prophet compares the hostile
army to a vineyard or orchard nearly
ready to be reaped, but all at once
made completely desolate. The war-
riors of Sennacherib were not per-
mitted to engage in battle, and thus,
in the figurative language of prophecy,
to be reaped, but were miraculously
cut off.

CHAP. ΧΙΧ.]

ISATAH.

167

6 They shall be left together for the ravenous bird of the moun-

tains,

And for the wild beast of the earth ;
The ravenous bird shall summer on them,
And every wild beast of the earth shall winter on them.
7 At that time a present shall be brought to Jehovah of Hosts,
From the people drawn out and plucked ;
Even from the people terrible from the first and onward ;
The nation powerful and victorious,
Whose country the rivers divide,
To the place of the name of Jehovah of Hosts,

Mount Zion.

6. In this verse the figure is drop-
ped, and instead of the fruit spoken
of becoming food for the ravenous
animals, the dead bodies of the enemy
are to be their repast. ‘273 properly
signifies any tame animal, but in the
more elevated style, YI8J M272 is equi-
valent to ὙΠ m0, a wild beast. Comp.
Deut. xxviii. 26. Its occurrence in con-
nexion with Ὅν, a bird of prey, shews
that such is its meaning here. The dis-
tribution in the two latter lines of the
verse is not to be understood as limit-
ing the ravenous birds to the period
of summer, and the wild beasts to that
of winter : it is only a poetical division
of the whole year. They were to feast
upon them both summer and winter.
The verbs jy? and 437 are denomina-
tives from Y'R, summer, and ΠΤ, winter.
Vin YY is to be taken collectively of

the careases of the slain.

7. The prophet now foreshews what
would be the result of communicating
to the Ethiopians, information respect-
ing the miraculous destruction of the
Assyrians. That a literal present is
here meant, there seems no reason to
doubt ; see 2 Chron. xxxii. 23 ; though
it is also highly probable that the im-
pression produced upon that people,
on the present occasion, paved the
way for the introduction of revealed
religion among them at a subsequent
period, when sacrifices of a nobler cha-
racter were offered to the Lord_—The
language is almost identical with that
employed in the description, ver. 2.
The prefixing of 1 to DYD evinces, that
there is an ellipsis of Ὁ before DY, in
the preceding line. Its being wanting
in six MSS. has little weight.

CHAPTER XIX.

THE SENTENCE OF EGYPT.

This chapter, which is directed against Egypt, contains a prediction of the
anarchy and confusion which existed in that country, during, and after, the
dodecarchy, 1—3 ; the cruelties of Cambyses, 4; great physical and civil
calamities which followed, 5—10; the infatuation of the Egyptian policy,

168 ISATAH. [CHAP. XIX.

11—17 ; the spread of the knowledge and worship of the true God, by means
of the Jews resident in Egypt, and its deliverance by Alexander the Great, 18
—22; and the universal religious intercourse which was brought about in the
East, in the time of the Seleucide, the Ptolemies, and the Romans, 23—25.

Eayrt, stretching from the Mediterranean Sea on the north, to Ethiopia on
the south, with the Red Sea on the east, and the Lybian desert on the west,
and intersected by the Nile throughout the whole of its length, was one of
the most celebrated countries in the ancient world. According to the gene-
alogical table, Gen. x., it was peopled after the deluge by Mizraim, one of the
sons of Ham; hence the names, D2 and 0m, which latter, in the Coptic
and Sahidiec dialects, ΔΉ ΔΑ: and KH&RE, Chemi, Cheme, i. e. the land
of Ham, is that still given to the country by the natives. This name was
also appropriated to one of the great gods of Egypt, who was regarded as
the generative principle, and was particularly worshipped at Chemnis, or
Panopolis. The word Mizraim does not occur in hieroglyphics, so far as has
yet been discovered. See Wilkinson, Second Series, vol. 1, p. 261. The
early history of Egypt is greatly involved in the obscurity of fable ; but the
discoveries which continue to be made by learned men, who are devoting
their time to the study of its antiquities, are successively bringing to light
a variety of particulars, which furnish us with certain data relative to its
epochs and some of its most notable events. It appears to have been
originally subject to a sacerdotal government, during which period, most of
its magnificent temples were constructed. To this succeeded the monarchy
of the Pharaohs, the first of whom reigned in the time of Abraham ; and
the last, Hophra, in that of Jeremiah,—subject to a partial interruption,
from the period of the Ethiopian conquest, till the accession of Psamme-
tichus. Since his reign, Egypt has been successively conquered and
governed by the Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, and Turks, and is at
present virtually an independent state. The Egyptians had, at a very early
period, made great progress in the arts, as the elegance and delicacy of their
sculptured monuments evince, some of which are ascertained to be more
than 3,500 years old. Their scientific acquirements were more limited,
owing chiefly to their gross superstitions, in which, and in the idolatrous
rites and practices connected with them, they exceeded all the other nations
of antiquity. They worshipped not only the sun and moon, and other
great objects of nature, but animals, reptiles, and vegetables, such as leeks,
onions, &c. Notwithstanding the oppression which their ancestors suffered
in Egypt, the Jews appear all along to have had strong leanings towards
that country ; and being accustomed to apply to it for assistance, whenattacked
by any foreign enemy, they transferred to it that confidence which was due
to Jehovah alone. Hence the numerous threatenings pronounced against
them on account of their alliances with it; and hence the denunciations
contained in the present chapter, which were intended to teach them, that,
instead of affording them any aid, Egypt would itself be reduced and
oppressed. For lengthened accounts of Egypt, and its dynasties, see
Vitringa and Gesenius.

CHAP. ΧΙΧ.]

ISAIAH.

169

1 Benotp! Jehovah shall ride on a swift cloud,

And shall come to Egypt ;

And the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence,
And the heart of Egypt shall melt within her.

2 1 will also arm the Egyptians against the Egyptians,
And they shall fight each against his brother,
And each against his neighbour ;

City against city,
Kingdom against kingdom.

ὃ The spirit of Egypt also shall fail within her,
And J will destroy her counsel ;
Yea, they may apply to the idols and the necromancers,
And to the diviners and the wizards:

1. It is common in Scripture to re-
present any great calamity, or the in-
fliction of a remarkable judgment,
under the idea of the coming of the
Lord, Ps. 1.3; Isa. xxvi. 21; John xxi.
23; Jam. v. 8; and to express the
awful majesty in which he appears on
such occasions, he is said to come in,
with, or upon the clouds, Dan. vii. 13;
Matt. xxiv. 30; Rev.i.7. Here, as in Ps.
xviii. 9, 10, he is represented as riding
upon them ; while the swiftness with
which the calamity was coming upon
Egypt is expressed by “a light cloud”
—such moving with great velocity
before the wind. By a striking pro-
sopopeeia, the gods of Egypt, such as
Jupiter Ammon, Osiris, Isis, Typhon,
Kneph, Pthah, Khem, Sate, Maut,
Neith, Bubastis, &c., characterised,
nevertheless, as D2, non-entities, are
introduced as shaking with fear at the
approach of Jehovah. The “melting
of the heart” means /oss of courage,
confidence, &c., Deut. xx. 8; Josh. v. 1.
Egypt is here spoken of under the idea
of a person.

2. For the meaning of °N302D,

see
chap. ix. 10.---- ΠΡ Ὁ 3 ΠΡΟ, hingdom
against kingdom. This seems distinctly
to refer to the intestine broils which
took place at the time of the dode-
carchy, or the rule of the twelve princes
who possessed themselves of the
government, after Sethos, the sacer-
dotal usurper. Their rule was de-
signed to be united ; but they soon

had mutual feuds, which led to a civil.

war, on the flight of Psammetichus,
one of their number, by whom Greek
and Carian mercenaries were intro-
duced into the country, and the other
princes put down. Both Herodotus
and Diodorus Siculus call these princes
βασιλεῖς, kings ; and it is to their juris-
diction, and not to the ancient division
of the country into thirty-six xomes, or
provinces, as the LXX. give it, that
the prophet refers when he speaks of
kingdoms.

3. On the appearance in Egypt of
the foreign troops, panoplied in brass,
which Psammetichus introduced, the
eleven princes and their counsellors
were confounded, and had no resource
left but to apply to their gods. ™
and ΠῈΡ are here synonymous: both
denoting counsel or purpose.—DOS, necro~

Arab. αἱ 9 murmur

edidit, to speak in a low murmuring
voice, resembling the noise made by a
new saddle from the motion of a camel,
and that made by the camel itself
when fatigued and hungry. See Gol.
Castel. and Freytag. The reference is
to the suppressed and hollow tones in
which the idolatrous impostors imi-
tated the supposed voice of the gods.
Comp. for the other terms, chap. Vili.
19. The Egyptians have in all ages
been distinguished for the practice of
the arts of divination, and are still
greatly addicted to it. They had their
celebrated oracleof Jupiter Ammon, in
Thebes; and that of Latona, at Butos 2

mancers, from Dox

τὰ τὰ

170

ISATAH.

[CHAP, XIX.

4 But I will deliver the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord,
And a fierce king shall rule them,
Saith the Lord Jehovah of Hosts.

5 The water also shall fail from the sea,
And the river shall be wasted and dried up.

and attached to every temple were
priests, who pretended to give the re-
sponses of the gods.

¥.

4,720, Syr. jam Arab. vials

only used in Niphal and Piel, but is
evidently equivalent to 120, 1207, fo
shut up in the power of any one. In
this connexion it implies not a mere
defeat, or partial subjugation, on the
part of the Egyptians, but the com-
plete establishment of a foreign rule.
—TP Ox, some interpreters, after
the LXX., Syr., Vulg., and op, the
reading of one MS, render in the
plural, hard masters; but 02% is used
intensitively when only one person is
meant, Gen. xlii. 30, 33; 2 Kings ii. 3,
5, 16; and the corresponding ty 722
shews that it must be so taken here;
which, indeed, the singular number of
the adjective absolutely requires. Ge-
senius adopts the opinion of Grotius
and others, that Psammetichus is
intended. By his own shewing, how-
ever, there was nothing in the conduct
of that monarch deserving the cha-
racter of cruel or tyrannical. He
appears, on the contrary, to have
pursued a liberal policy, and to have
been a benefactor to the country ; and
though 240,000 Egyptian troops re-
volted and emigrated to Ethiopia, this
appears to have originated solely in
their being piqued at his retaining
foreign soldiers in his service, and not
in any acts of oppression towards
them, or the inhabitants at large.
The character rather attaches to Cam-
byses, who, on the conquest of Egypt,
B.C. 525, gave vent, in a variety of
ways, to his mad and ferocious dis-
position, practised unheard-of cruel-
ties, destroyed the temples and public
buildings, violated the sanctuaries of
the dead, took or destroyed private
property, ordered the priests to be
severely whipped for worshipping
Apis; and such of the Egyptians as
were found in Memphis engaging in

this worship, he commanded to be
slain. Prideaux, pt. i. Ὁ. iii. That
this conqueror is intended in the pro-
phecy is rendered more probable by
the circumstance, that it was he who
completely subverted the throne of
the Pharaohs—so that Egypt was then
reduced to a mere province of the
Persian empire, and never afterwards
regained its ancient independence.
Others are of opinion that, by the
“fierce king,” Ochus is meant, whose
barbarities exceeded even those of
Cambyses ; but the parallelism requires:
us to apply it to the same person who.
is called a “cruel lord.” The enor-
mities of Ochus were merely a renewal.
of those committed by Cambyses.

5. To aggravate the calamitous
condition of the subjugated Egyptians,.
they were to be visited by a failure in
the periodical inundation of the Nile,
on which the prosperity of the country
mainly depended. This celebrated
river, which has its springs in the
mountains of Abyssinia, and enters.
Egypt at the villages of El-Kalabshe
and Teffa, a little to the south of
Syene, rises annually in the months of
June and July ; in August it overflows.
its banks, and by the beginning of
September reaches its highest eleva-
tion, which is from twenty to twenty-.
three feet above the usual level. In
Lower Egypt the rise is not so high,.
owing to the inundation spreading
more widely over the low country.
Numerous canals are dug to receive
the water, from which it is conveyed
to irrigate the land. On the subsiding
of the water, a quantity of mud,
which it has brought along with it
and deposited, is left, which greatly
adds to the fertility of the soil. On
this mud-covered soil the cultivator
casts the seed, and the corn soon
springs up and ripens, in consequence
of the extreme heat of the sun.
During the inundation the country
assumes the appearance of a sea,

CHAP. XIX.|

ISATAH.

171

6 The streams also shall become putrid ;
The canals of Egypt shall be emptied and dried up ;
The reed and the rush shall wither.
7 The meadows by the river, by the edge of the river,
And all the produce of the river,
- Shall be dried up, driven away, and be no more.
8 And the fishermen shall mourn :

studded with small islands, on which
cities, yrising grounds, &c. present
themselves to the view. Hence the
propriety of the term 0’, sea, as
applied to the Nile in this verse, and

in the Arab. Li] px, the Sea Nile,

and by way of eminence, a, the

Sea. Comp. Nah. 11. 8; Herod ii. 97;
Plin. Nat. Hist. xxxv. 11; and Diod.
Sic. i. 12, who tells us, Oi yap Αἰγύπτιοι
νομιζούσιν ᾿Ωκεανὸν εἶναι τὸν παρ᾽ αὐτοῖς
ποταμὸν Νεῖλον. In the following line
it is called ὙΠ), absolutely, which is
peculiar to this place; that term
‘being elsewhere exclusively appro-
priated, when thus used, to the
Euphrates.—n5) the LXX. and others
derive from nv, fo drink; but it is
the Niph. of m3, fo destroy by causing
to fail, to dry up. In 7 and vx there
is manifestly a gradation: the former
signifying rather the failure of the
water; the latter, complete desicca-
tion. The desiccation of the Nile is
destructive of the agricultural interest
in Egypt, and of all that is dependent
‘on it.

6, 7. A most graphic description of
the physical consequences that would
immediately follow from the failure of
the water. %7N7 is either a double
form, compounded of the Chaldee
preformant δὲ in Aphel, and the He-
brew 7 in Hiphil; or, it is an accom-
modation to the forms ΡΝ, TY, Paz,
in which the δὶ with a Segol is placed
before a sibilant in a mixed syllable.
See Hitzig. Travellers greatly com-
plain of the foul and putrid state of
the water which remains in the
streams or canals after the Nile has
subsided, the foetid effluvium of which
is most destructive—OWN, the plural

of 1, 1APo, 1€ PO, the native word
for river. It here denotes the branches

or minor divisions of the Nile— xz»,
which our translators have rendered
defence, is the singular of ΘΒ, and
seems employed specially to denote
Lower Egypt, just as the dual is ex-
pressive of the two divisions of the
country into Upper and Lower—a
distinction recognised in the title
“Lord of the two regions,” which
was assumed by every monarch of
the country at the time of his coro-
nation, and represented by the pshent,
or double crown, which was placed
upon his head on the occasion. The
Arabs give to Egypt the corresponding

name ὁ in the sing.; and Ibn

Batuta states, that, in his time, Cairo

was called yon Misr.—nvw, from ™»,

to be naked, the woodless and uncultivated
but verdant spots on the banks of the
river, which were used for meadows or
pasturage. ‘x’ yin, lit. the seed of the
river, but YY is also used for the crop
which is produced from the seed, Job
mex, UO Isa. ex 3. TX τὸ
σπειρόμενον διὰ τοῦ ποταμοῦ.

8. In this, and the two following
verses, the prophet introduces those
classes of the inhabitants whose occu-
pations were more immediately con-
nected with the river. The Nile was
anciently much celebrated for the
multitude, variety, and excellence of
its fish. Numb. xi. 5; Herod. ii. 93;
Strabo, xvii. 2.4; Diod. Sic. i. 36, 40;
Wilkinson’s Ancient Egyptians, vol.
iii. p. 683—68, That it is equally so
still may be seen from the travels of
Sonnini, pp. 407—417, 474 --- 478.
Fishermen must, therefore, have formed
a numerous class among the inhabit-
ants.—On the ground that nets are
not now used by the fishermen of
Egypt, it has been maintained by
some, that by ΠΟΘ is meant a twiggen

172

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XIX.

Yea, all that cast the hook into the river shall lament ;
And those that spread nets upon the surface of the waters shall

languish.

9 And the flax-dressers shall be confounded,

And the weavers of linen.

10 Her pillars also are broken down,

or wicker trap, but against such inter-
pretation, the use of 018, fo spread, to
spread out, a8 well as DYE %Y, is an
insuperable objection. Besides, the
ancient use of the net is seen in the
representation of one on a monument
at Thebes, in Wilkinson, wt swp. vol.
iii. p. 55.—For instances of the nomen
regens being separated from its geni-
tive, as in 737 WI Ὁ, see Gen. vil.
6; Job xv. 10; Isa. lii. 14. The same
mode of construction occurs in the
Arabic poetry and formulas of swear-
ing. Gesen. Lehrgeb. p. 675.

9. nip ond av, LXX. τὸ λίνον τὸ

σχιστόν: Hexap. Syr. aso ala;

Symm. τὸ λίνον τὸ κτενιστόν: lit. the
workers of combed flax; but the mean-
ing is, not that they were employed in
manufacturing it after it was combed,
but in hatcheling or combing it. See,
for an account of this process, Pliny,
xix. 1; Wilkinson, vol. iii. p. 139.
The former branch of labour belonged
to the “Nn Unk, the weavers of linen
cloth. 4, which occurs only in this
antiquated form, like "τῷ, ‘13, is de-
rived from WW, fo be or become white;

Arab. , white silk; Eth. ἐπ 26:

white cotton; LXX. rods ἐργαζομένους
τὴν βύσσον. Both flax and cotton
abounded in Egypt; and the manu-
facturing of linen and cotton cloths
afforded support to many thousands
of its inhabitants. They are still
among its most valuable productions.
In the year 1835, more than 100,000
bales of cotton, each weighing upwards
of an hundred-weight, were shipped at
Alexandria. Jn ancient times, linen
was worn by the people generally as
shirts; and, according to Herod. ii.
37, the priests were not permitted to
wear any thing else: at least when
they performed the sacred rites. The
exportation of linen yarn, and fine
linen cloth, is mentioned 1 Kings x.

28; Ezek. xxvii. 7. See also Wilkin-
son, ut sup. vol. ili. pp. 113—127,
where an interesting account will be
found of the Egyptian linen, especially
that forming the bandages of the
mummies.—Those engaged in pre-
paring and manufacturing these mate-
rials are here mentioned along with
the fishermen, on account of their
hatcheling and bleaching on the
banks of the Nile and its canals.

10. ΘΙ ΞΟ τηρῶ, Those who wish
to see the numerous and conflicting
interpretations which have been given
of this verse, may consult Rosenmiiler,
in loc. 2d edit. That of Gesenius is at
once simple and satisfactory: viz. that
the two grand divisions of society in
the East, the upper and lower classes,
are meant ; the former metaphorically
called pillars, or supporters of the
state, and the latter characterised as
labouring for hire. Tin occurs only
once besides, Ps. xi. 3, where, after
Aquila, our translators render it
foundations. It is obviously derived
from ™0, to place, set, lay; and may
either refer to pillars or foundations,
though the use of x37 immediately
following, renders the former the more

probable. Comp. iJ os the

pillars of state, in use among the Per-
sians. The leading men in the country
being intended, the participle is of the
mas. gen. though the noun is fem.
Dw27D, deaten, broken, is doubly appro-
priate. It corresponds literally to the
idea of broken pillars, but, in agree-
ment with the figurative sense in
which that term is here used, it signi-
fies broken in spirit—The meaning of
‘20 “vy given in the translation is
secured by Prov. xi. 18, which should
be rendered,
“ As for the wicked, he worketh. for
deceitful wages ; ὶ
But he who soweth righteousness, fo
a sure reward,”

CHAP. 51Χ.]

ISATAH. 173

And all the hired labourers are grieved in mind.
11 Surely the princes of Zoan are fools ;
As for the sage counsellors of Pharaoh, their counsel is become

stupid :

How then can ye say to Pharaoh,

Ζύθον, barley-wine, the rendering of the
LXX., has the support of three only
of De Rossi’s MSS., which read 120.—
The interpretation just given evinces
that the antithetic ninv is to be under-
stood of persons and not of θεσμοῦς,
laws, as Syrom. has it, or any neuter
subject whatever—)) "228 so evi-
dently corresponds to 08372 in the
sense of grieved in spirit, broken-hearted,
that it is strange any other construc-
tion could have been put upon the
phrase; much more, that it should
have been rendered fish-ponds, &c.
Dax, indeed, signifies a marsh, a pool
of stagnant water, or a pool generally ;
but never in connexion as here with
wa. The adjective is evidently cog-
nate both with it, and with 02Y, 70
stand still, be stagnant, astounded,

grieved, &e. Comp. the Arab. eal,

JSastidivit, nauseum concepit ; ΡΞ» ager

animi; Chald. 038, tristatus est, in an-
gore fuit; and see Lee on Job xxx. 25,
where ‘52 192” has the same meaning.

11. Having, in the preceding verse,
specified the magnates of Egypt gene-
rally, Isaiah now turns to the courtiers
in particular; and in this, and the two
following verses, exposes the folly of
their counsels, and the destructive
character of their influence. ΟΞ, in

Egypt., ANH, οὐ VANE, signify-
ing low, inferior, Gr. Tans, Arab. wl :

Zoan, Or Tanis, one of the principal
cities of Lower Egypt, and a royal
residence of the Pharaohs. It was of
great antiquity, as the notice Numb.
ΧΗ]. 22 implies; and was the scene of
the miracles performed by Moses, Ps.
xxviii. 12, 43. Its sculptured monu-
ments testify to its existence in the
age of Rameses the Great, 7.c. 3190
years ago. Wilkinson’s Manners and
Customs of the Ancient Egyptians,
vol. 1. pp. 5, 6. A difference of opinion

has obtained respecting its exact situ-
ation; but it is now generally agreed
that it lay on the east of that branch
of the Nile, which takes its name
from it, at the N.W. of Tahpanhes,
and at no great distance from the sea
of Menzaleh. Extensive ruins are
still visible around the spot, and
several obelisks and other monuments
of former magnificence have been
found among them. See Gesenius, iz
loc. and Wilkinson, wf sup—The con-
struction of two nouns with the geni-
tive following, as in TD ἜΣ "937, is
not without example. See Judg. v.
29. In the latter half of the verse,
notice is taken of the claims which
the counsellors of Pharaoh laid to
ancestorial wisdom and royal descent.
Each of them is introduced as boast-
ing: “Tam the son of sages; the son
of ancient kings.” Such construction
is more suited to the connexion than
that which represents them as putting
the words into the mouth of the mon-
arch. The boast was quite accordant
with the notions and usages which
existed among the ancient Egyptians.
Their kings were partly chosen from
the order of the priests; and, as there
were different dynasties, the descend-
ants of such kings as had been set
aside, surrounding the person of the
monarch in the capacity of coun-
sellors, or forming a sacred college,
would naturally be proud of their
parentage, and the lessons of wisdom
which had been handed down to them
from antiquity. Herodotus tells us,
that the priests whom he consulted
affirmed, that from the first king to
Sethos, the priest of Vulcan, there
had been ¢hree hundred and forty-one
high-priests and kings; and, conduct-
ing him into a spacious temple, they
shewed him colossal statues of these
priests; each during his life having
placed there a statue of himself.
Herod. ii. 141; Plut. de 1514. et Osir.
p. 452, edit. Wittenb. The preten-

y

174

ISATAH.

[CHAP, XIX.

Τ am the son of sages, the son of ancient kings ?

12 Where now are thy sages ;

Let them now shew thee, if they know,

What Jehovah of Hosts hath purposed concerning Egypt.
13 The princes of Zoan are infatuated ;

The princes of Noph are deceived ;

The corner-stones of her tribes

Have caused Kgypt to err.

sions of the ancient Egyptians, like
those of the Chinese, to extreme
antiquity, are well known: of their
wise men and their wisdom, mention
is made Exod, vil. 11; 1 Kings iv. 30;
Acts vil. 22; whence it appears to
have been proverbial; and one of
their kings, Bocchoris the Saite, ob-
tained, by way of pre-eminent distinc-
tion, the surname of “The Wise.”
They were deeply skilled in astro-
nomy, geometry, architecture, philo-
sophy, mythology, metaphysics, astro-
logy.——The name 78, Pharaoh, in

Coptic Ov Po, king, and, with the

article, TOY PO or cor PO, the king,
was common to all the kings of Egypt
down to the time of the Persian

conquest. Comp. the Arab. & yp τώ

quod summum est, hence princeps, and
the Heb. nivw, Judg. v. 2; and see
Robinson on this passage, Bib. Rep.
vol, i. pp. 579—581. In the present
day, [bn Pharaoon, “son of a Pharaoh,”
is a great term of reproach among the
Kgyptians. Wilkinson, wf sup. 53.
This writer, in his Second Series, vol.
i. pp. 287, 288, derives the name from
Re or Ra, “Sun ;” with the definite
article, Pi, Pire, Phré, Phrah, Pharaoh ;
and affirms that this regal title was
probably owing to the idea, that, as
the sun was the chief of the heavenly
bodies, he was a fit emblem of the
king who was the ruler of all on
earth.
12. Comp. ch. xli. 22, 23: xliv. 7.

13. *p, Hos. ix. 6, 7, Copt. Qaeqt
and QREKKCTE, Arab. Core, ΤΧΧ.

and Class. Gr. authors, Μέμφις, Memphis,

the second capital and celebrated ne
cropolis of Egypt. In hieroglyphics
it is written J/en-nofri, followed by a
pyramid. Wilkinson, w/ sup. vol. 1. p.
175. According to Plutarch, Isid et
Osir. p. 472, edit. Wittenb., the name
signifies ὄρμος ἀγαθῶν, the haven of the
good, in reference to their being buried
there; which derivation is in the
main justified by Jablonsky, Opuse.
ii. p. 131, and Champollion, lEgypt
sous les Pharaons, tome 1. p. 363. An
immense number of mummies have
been discovered in and around the
spot where it stood, many of them
between two and three thousand years
old, so that there is a singular propriety
in the declaration, Hos. ix. 6, D737A AY,
Memphis shall bury them. It was situ-
ated near the present village of Moniat-
Rahinet, four or five miles south-east
of Old Cairo, on the opposite bank of
the Nile, and appears to have occupied
the whole space between the pyramids
of Gizeh and those of Sacarah. <Ac-
cording to Josephus, it was founded
by Menes, the first of the Egyptian
kings, upwards of thirteen hundred
years before the time of Solomon.
A colossus, and fragments of several
statues, bearing the name of Rameses
the Great, are still met with among
the ruins; but otherwise every vestige
of its former grandeur has completely
disappeared. It continued to be a
royal residence till the times of the
Ptolemies, when it began to fall into
decay. In the twelfth century, Edrisi
describes its ruins as extending nine
miles in every direction, but even
then containing works of the most
stupendous character. Among others
he mentions a monolithic temple of
granite, thirteen feet and a half high,
twelve long, and seven broad, entirely

CHAP. XIX. |

14

ISATAH. 175

Jehovah hath poured into the midst of her a perverse spirit,

So that Egypt is made to err in all her works,
As a drunkard staggereth in his vomit.
15 And Egypt shall have no work,

That the head or the tail,

perform.
16

covered within and without with in-
scriptions ; and statues of great beauty
and dimensions, one of which was
forty-five feet high, and consisting of
a single block of red granite.—The 1
prefixed to wn, though supported by
the ancient versions, with the excep-
tion of the Targ. and Vulg., is omitted
in one hundred and six MSS., fourteen
early printed editions, and upwards of
twenty more. It is evident from its
use, Judg. xx. 2, Ps. exviii. 22, and
other passages, that 728, which pro-
perly signifies a corver or corner-stone,
from its prominence and utility in
supporting the united walls of an
edifice, is here employed metaphori-
cally to denote a prince or chief: Ro-
senmiiller and others aptly compare
the Arab. | $,, which Saadias uses in
this place, as occurring in the phrases
ysl) op) the pillar of the empire ;
ἘΠῚ τ yp the pillar of religion, though
it also primarily signifies azgulus.
The frequent occurrence of collective
nouns in Hebrew, shews that m2 is
properly pointed, and is not to be
changed into ΠΞΞ, the plural punctua-
tion.—What the 229 of Egypt is de-
signed to describe is not quite certain.
The most probable opinion is, that the
inhabitants of the different nomes or
prefectures are meant into which the
nation was divided.

14. The proper signification of 79
is fo mix, but, as the mixing of liquids
was effected by pouring one kind into
a vessel containing that with which it
was to be mingled, it is so to be taken
in the present figurative use of the

term.—ovy, from my, uss te bend,
make crooked, stands for Dww, perversi-
fies: the gemination, as usual, indi-
cating intensity of signification, The

the branch or the rush may

In that day the Egyptians shall be as women ;

doctrine taught in this verse is the
same as that found in chap. xxix. 10;
Exod. iv. 2f; Rom. ix. 18, xi. 7, 8;
which is not to be understood as
asserting any positive or direct in-
fusion of evil on the part of God—
such an idea being totally repugnant
to the holiness of his character,—but
his punitively withholding the exer-
tion of certain influences, by which
men might have been restrained ; or,
his so ordering things in his provi-
dence, that they, as free agents, shall
take occasion from them to do what is
wrong. Since all intelligence and
wisdom is referred to him as its
source, however it may be acquired
and improved by its possessors, there
is no violence in ascribing its with-
drawment to his displeasure. It is
very common in Scripture to speak of
God’s actually doing what he permits,
or for the voluntary perpetration of
which, on the part of man, he merely
furnishes occasions in the holy proce-
dure of his moral government. See
2 Sam. xii. 11, xxiv. 1, and comp. the
remarks on Isa, vi. 10.—The conjunc-
tion } in 277 marks the event; and
the third plural of Hiph. is used as
freq. with a singular passive significa-
tion.—The comparison at the end of
the verse is quite in keeping with the
use of 702, in the sense of pouring in
intoxicating ingredients. Comp. chap.
MMVII 75 8.

15. The > in on) forms the dative
of possession. A total stagnation of
business would be the result of the
infatuated counsels of Egypt. For
the metaphors, see remarks on chap.
ix, 13, 14.

16, 17. These verses describe the
dispirited condition of the inhabit-
ants, and their inability to resist the
least powerful of their external foes.
The mere rumour that the Jews, who

ISAIAH.

[CHAP, XIX

For they shall tremble and fear,
At the shaking of the hand of Jehovah of Hosts,
Which he shall shake at them.

17 And the land of Judah shall be a terror to Egypt;
Every one to whom it is mentioned shall be afraid,
Because of the purpose of Jehovah of Hosts,
Which he hath purposed against them.

18 In that day there shall be five

were accustomed to look to Egypt for
succour, were preparing an expedition,
would be sufficient to strike terror
into every bosom. The reference is to
a period subsequent to the restoration
from Babylon, when the Jewish power
had again begun to increase, under
the protection of the Persian mon-
archs. By the shaking of the hand of
the Lord is meant the approach of
Cambyses towards Egypt—o°E) is
here used for the Hyyptians, but 15
taken collectively, as the gender and
number both of the verbs and pro-
nouns shew.—*:7 occurs only in this
place. Schultens, Michaelis, Dathe,
and others, derive the word from the

Arab. La, confugit, refugit ; and sup-

pose the prophet to mean, that Juda
would, under such circumstances, be
lam, a refuge, for the Egyptians.
Other conjectures have been offered.
There seems no substantial reason
why 30 should not be considered as
the Chald. orthography of 727, which
is found in seven of Kennicott’s Co-
dices, three of De Rossi’s, and three
printed editions. Comp. xv? for 79,
Ruth. i. 20; ἘΠῚ} for 7p, Ezek. xxvii.
31; 82 for 720, Ps. cxxvii. 2. Gesenius
regards it as derived from 237 (as 27,
to describe a circle,) to move round and
round ; hence to reel or stagger, and
consequently applicable, according to
the use of that verb in Ps. evii. 27, to
the emotion of amazement, bewilder-
ment, fear, consternation, terror. Thus
the LXX., Aq., Theod., Targ., Syr.,
and Vulg.— 02: is improperly sepa-
rated from the °29 following, by the
Athnach, which perplexes the entire
sentence, and has led to the combina-
tion We Vx, contrary to the usage of
the language.

cities in the land of Egypt,

18. For the latitude with which the
phrase 8177 OF2 is used, see chap. iv. 2.
The prophet had in his eye the period
which commenced with the Persian
conquest of Egypt, and comprehended
the subsequent condition of that
country.—Five, is supposed by Clarius,
Preb. Lowth, Rosenmiller, and others,
to be a definite number used for an
indefinite; and Gesenius adduces a
number of passages in proof, but not
one of them is to the point. Le Clere,
Bp. Newton, and Hitzig, take the term
literally, and are of opinion, that
Heliopolis, Leontopolis, Migdol, Daphne,
and Memphis, are meant. See Jer.
xliv. 1—yp22 nbw, the lip, i.e. the lan-
guage, of Canaan, or, the language
spoken in the land of Canaan—there
being an ellipsis of S78 before 7533, as
in Exod. xv. 15. That by this desig-
nation the Hebrew language is meant,
with special reference to its having
been that spoken by the original
inhabitants of Canaan, is agreed on all
hands. It has, however, been ques-
tioned whether the prophet is to be
understood as asserting that this lan-
guage would actually be spoken by the
inhabitants of the afore-mentioned
cities ; or whether the term //p is not
rather to be taken figuratively of con-
Jession or profession, and the whole
phrase to mean the public avowal of
true religion. In support of the latter
view, an appeal has been made to
Zeph. ii. 9, where the Lord promises
to turn to the people 72 ADL, a pure
lip; and to the latter half of this
verse, in which swearing to Jehovah
appears to be parallel. It is not im-
probable, however, that the reference
is to the Hebrew language as employed
in the public worship of Jehovah,
which the Jews instituted in Egypt ;
and as the native proselvtes joined in

CHAP. XIX. |

ISAIAH. in Fi

Speaking the language of Canaan,
And swearing to Jehovah of Hosts ;

such worship, they might not im-
properly be said to speak the language
in which it was performed. Even
after the introduction of the Greek
into that country, and that of the
Greek version among the Jews, the
law continued to be publicly read in
the original, just as it is in all the
synagogues at the present day. Nor
must it be forgotten that the emigra-
tion of Jews from Palestine to Egypt
was so great under the Ptolemies, and
the privileges conceded to them by
these monarchs were so numerous,
that the prevalence of Hebrew for a
time, in certain cities of which they
may have formed the principal part of
the population, is by no means incon-
ceivable. Could we rely on the ac-
count of Aristeas, it would seem that
not fewer than 198,000 Jewish cap-
tives were released by Ptolemy Phila-
delphus, so that the number of Jews
resident in Egypt must have been very
great.—To swear to Jehovah, means to
profess allegiance to him, publicly to
protest and avow that He alone is the
object of adoration and religious obe-
dience. Comp. chap. xlv. 23; Rom.
xiv. 11.—For oy Vy, the City of De-
struction, Which several of De Rossi’s
Codices express by DVT] YY, sixteen
MSS., and several printed editions,
read Duya VY, the City of the Sun, which
is supported by the renderings of the
Complutensian edition of the LXX.,
Symm., Vulg., Arab., Saad., the Tal-
mud, and other Jewish testimonies.
Whether Aq. and Theod. also so read,
is uncertain. The Targ. unites both
readings. The present is one of the
only two passages in the Hebrew
Bible in which Eichhorn is inclined to
admit that the Jews have been guilty
of wilful corruption ; and certainly
there is ground to suspect that it has
been tampered with, in support of
party prejudice. We learn from Jo-
sephus and other Jewish authorities,
that Onias, son of the high-priest
Onias ITI., whose right it was to have
succeeded to the office, finding that the
high-priesthood was transferred by
Antiochus to another family, fled into

Egypt, where he so effectually recom-
mended himself by his talents to
Ptolemy Philometor, and his queen
Cleopatra, that, in the year B.c. 149,
he was appointed commander-in-chief
of the army ; and soon after, he and
Dositheus, one of his countrymen,
had committed to them the entire
administration of the government.
Availing himself of his popularity,
Onias persuaded the king to grant him
permission to build a temple for the
religious services of the numerous
Jews resident in Egypt, and actually
constructed one on the site of an an-
cient temple of Bubastis, or Isis, at
the city of Leontopolis, in the Helio-
politan nome, of which he was governor.
This erection corresponded, in minia-
ture, to the temple at Jerusalem.
Onias himself became high-priest ;
other lineal priests and Levites were
appointed ; and the whole service was
conducted strictly according to the
Mosaic ritual. The temple continued
to be thus used till the time of the
emperor Vespasian, who ordered it to
be shut up and finally destroyed, on
account of the attempts of the Egyp-
tian Jews to throw off the Roman
yoke. Joseph. Antiq. lib. iii. cap. iii.
§ 1—3, xx. x. § 1. Con. Apion. hb. ii.
cap. v. Wolfii Biblioth. Hebr. tom. iv.
p. 353. Talmud. Joma, 4. Maimon.
Menachoth, 6.

To justify this undertaking, Onias
appealed to the 19th verse of this
chapter, by which the scruples of
many of his brethren were removed ;
but it would seem that strong preju-
dices continued to be excited and
fostered against it, most likely by
Palestinian Jews ; for the text of the
LXX., if not originally, yet very early
exhibited the reading, πόλις ᾿Ασεδέκ,
ἢ.6. PIS Vy, the City of Righteousness :
—a reading copied in the Hexaplar

Syriac, «ο]»}.] 12a.,80, which in-

serts in the margin the readings of
Aq., Symm., and 'Theod., but takes no
notice of the Complutensian ’Ayépes,
so that it cannot have existed in the
MSS. consulted by Origen. So violent

178

ISATAH.

|CHAP, XIX.

One of them shall be called THE City oF THE Sun.
19 In that day there shall be an altar to Jehovah,

a departure from the Hebrew text, on
the part of the Alexandrian Jews,
could only have been proyoked by
something similar on that of their
brethren in Palestine, who, finding the
use to which they applied the text, in
all probability changed D777 into D}77,
and thus characterised Heliopolis, the
city of the Sua, as that of destruction,
to which they wished it might be
devoted. What warrants this con-
clusion, in addition to this circum-
stance, and the support it derives
from the authorities above quoted,
which sustain D137, is the total irrele-
vance of the common reading in such
a context. Were the prophet still
denouncing judgments against the
Egyptians, there would be some pro-
priety in his giving to one of its cities
the name of “the city of destruction ;”

but he is speaking of the establishment -

of the worship of the true God, in
application to which nothing would
be more out of place.

Other interpretations have been
proposed, as that of Iken, in his 16th
Dissert. Philol. Theol., who derives

the word from the Arab. my? a

strong voracious Lion, and accordingly
renders the words Leontopolis; in
which he is followed by Michaelis,
Déderlein, and Dathe. But to this
Rosenmiller justly objects, that there
is no such name of the lion in Hebrew,
though the language has a number of
names by which to designate that
animal. The same objection les
against the translation of Gesenius,
“the city of deliverance,’ deriving the

noun from the Arab. Urey» servavit,

custodivit. Hitzig is decidedly in favour
of Heliopolis, though his opinion that
ow signifies the orb or disk of the sun,

from Dw, Arab. Uys , to scrape, &e.,

ee,

is altogether fanciful. The word is
otherwise clearly used in Hebrew to
denote the sun, Judges viii. 13, xiv. 18 ;
Job ix. 7. In this opinion, which is
that adopted by Vitringa, Lowth, and
Jenour, 1 fully coneur, as best satisfy-

ing all the claims of the text. I will
only add that Coverdale renders,
‘And Heliopolis shall be one of
them.” The native name of Heliopolis

was UN, Heb. fx, Ov: afterwards,

wow m2, Beth-Shemesh, i. e. the house,
or temple of the Sun; Jer. xliii.
13, which one of Kennicott’s MSS.
exhibits in this place. It stood a few
miles to the north of Memphis, about
the site of the present village of Mata-
rich ; and was celebrated for the beau-
tiful temple of the sun, and the nu-
merous Obelisks which were erected
around it. Leontopolis, where the
Jewish temple was built, stood some
miles still farther north, and its ruins
are now known by the name of Z¢/-

loudieh, 1.6. (5.2 ub, The Jews heap ;

where, no doubt, monuments and in-
scriptions will yet be found, illustra-
tive of the Jewish history.

The specification of Heliopolis, as
one of the five cities in which the
worship of the true God should be
performed, seems to have been occa-
sioned by its being, at the time the
prophet wrote, one of the principal
seats of Egyptian idolatry.

19. Commentators generally take
the “altar” and “ pillar” here spoken
of ina figurative sense, and some, as
Gesenius, regard them as collective
nouns, intimating that spiritual wor-
ship would be rendered to Jehovah
throughout the land of Egypt. Since,
however, the prophecy has respect to a
period prior to the introduction of the
Gospel economy, we are not at liberty
to interpret the terms otherwise than
literally ; and as, during the period
referred to, myriads of Jews were
resident in Egypt, and worshipped the
God of their fathers, there seems no
valid reason why we should not con-
sider the altar to be that erected by
Onias at Leontopolis. It may, indeed,
be objected that such a prediction
would sanction the violation of the
Mosaic statute, which ordained that
sacrifices should nowhere be offered
except at the place which God should

CHAP. XIX.]

ISATAH.

179

In the midst of the land of Egypt,
And a pillar at its boundary to Jehovah ;
20 And it shall be for a sign and a witness
For Jehovah of Hosts in the land of Egypt ;
Because they cried to Jehovah on account of the oppressors,

choose, Deut. xii. 5—14: but it must
be recollected that this enactment
had an exclusive reference to Pales-
tine, to the circumstances of the
Israelites as exposed to idolatry in
that country, and to the theocracy as
established among them there. Had
they been at liberty to sacrifice pri-
vately, i.e. each at his own altar, it
would infallibly have led to idolatrous
practices, as the event proved, in the
numerous instances in which they
transgressed the commandment. None
of these reasons apply to the Egyptian
Jews. The theocracy was drawing to
its close. Few, comparatively, of the
Jews in Egypt could repair to Jerusa-
lem at the appointed festivals. No
encouragement was given to private
sacrifice. The establishment at Leon-
topolis was exclusive ; and Onias, who
would have succeeded to the priest-
hood at Jerusalem, if he had not been
unjustly deprived of it, had alone the
right to officiate in holy things, and
not Alcimus, who only exercised the
office of high-priest in virtue of his
having been invested with it by An-
tiochus. Joseph. Antiq. lib. xii. cap.
9,§7. In justification of his conduct,
he might have pleaded the example of
the prophet Elijah, who, notwithstand-
ing the prohibition given to the He-
brews generally, did, upon an extra-
ordinary occasion, offer sacrifice on
Mount Carmel, 1 Kings xviii. 30—38.
Nor does it appear that this central
worship in Egypt had the smallest in-
fluence in leading the Jews to practise
idolatry, but the contrary. It tended
to wean them from an undue attach-
ment to Jerusalem, as “the place
where men ought to worship,” as well
as to attract the surrounding idolaters
to the service of Jehovah ; and as both
temples were destroyed, under the
same Roman emperor, within a few
months of each other, and no provision
was made in the Hebrew Scriptures
for any future erection of the kind, it

was demonstrated to the Jews, that
henceforth, neither at Jerusalem nor
elsewhere, were men exclusively to
worship the Father, but that iz every
place incense should be offered to his
name, and a pure offering, Mal. i. 11.

The 7229, pillar, appears to have
been a commemorative obelisk. It was
customary, from the most ancient
times, to set up a cippus, or pillar, on
remarkable occasions. See Gen. xxviii.
18, xxxi. 45, xxxv. 14; 1 Sam. vii. 12;
Exod. xxiv. 4; in the last of which
passages the term 7329 occurs, as here,
In connexion with 1392, az altar;
whence it may be inferred, that the
monument to be erected in Egypt was
designed to induce those who beheld
it to worship that God to whom it was
dedicated, and whose glorious name
was, in all probability, inscribed upon
it. Egypt abounded in such obelisks,
some of which were of immense size ;
and many of them remain at the pre-
sent day. It is to those at Heliopolis,
which were dedicated to the sun, that
Jeremiah refers, and the destruction
of which he predicts, chap. xliii. 13.
The situation of this pillar is stated to
be at the boundary of Egypt; but
whether Tahpanhes, or Pelusium, as
the northern frontier, or Syene as the
southern, be meant, cannot be deter-
mined.

20. Whatever might be the private
views of the Jews in the erection of
the altar and the pillar, it was the de-
sign of Jehovah that they should fur-
nish a visible testimony to the Egyp-
tians of his existence and character.
They would be reminded by them of
his gracious interposition in behalf of
his worshippers in the days of Hezekiah
and Cyrus, and of what he had done
for their own country in delivering
them from the galling yoke of the
Persians. That the deliverer here
predicted was Alexander the Great,
there can be little doubt. After that
monarch had been at Jerusalem, he

180

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XIX.

And he sent them a saviour, and a defender, and delivered them.

21

And Jehovah shall make himself known to the Egyptians,

And the Egyptians shall know Jehovah in that day,
And shall serve him with sacrifice and oblation ;
They shall also make a vow to Jehovah, and perform it.

But he will heal them ;

Jehovah shall indeed long smite the Egyptians,

For they shall turn to Jehovah,
And he will be propitious to them, and will heal them.

23

In that day there shall be a highway from Egypt to Assyria;

So that the Assyrians shall come to Egypt, and the Egyptians

to Assyria ;

proceeded to Egypt, where he was
hailed with the greatest joy by the in-
habitants. Their nobles went as far
as Pelusium to do him homage ; and
their Persian oppressors were forced
to surrender without striking a blow.
—1) is the Ben. partic. of 1, fo contend,
defend, or maintain the cause of another ;
and is not to be confounded with the
adjective 14, great, ὅτο.

21, 22. yt. For the reflexive signi-
fication of Niphal, see Gesen, Lehrgeb.
p. 238. The means which Jehovah
employed for the purpose of revealing
himself to the Egyptians, appear to
have been the residence of so many
Jews among them, the severe national
calamities to which they were sub-
jected, and the deliverances which he
wrought for them. The conversion of
multitudes to the Jewish faith, under
the Ptolemies, in a great measure
paved the way for the introduction of
the gospel into Egypt; and, in part,
accounts for its very rapid and exten-
sive spread in that country.—In 12
mI) ΤΠ} there is an ellipsis of 3 before
the nouns. Exod. x. 26, which Ge-
senius adduces to prove that 72Y signi-
fies 4o offer, evinces, on the contrary,
that it is used in the acceptation of
serving ΟΥ̓ worshipping.*}3—F2D. <A finite
verb repeated in the infin. indicates
the continuation of the action. See 1
Sam. vi. 12; 1 Kings xx. 37. Gesen.
Lehrgeb. p. 779. The doctrine here
taught is, that when God has purposes
of mercy towards a sinful people, he
will continue to visit them with cala-
mities till they are humbled, and thus

brought into a fit state for appreciat-
ing the value of his mercies. Comp,
Job v. 17—19; Hos. vy. 15, yi. 1, 2;
Isa. lvii, 15—19.

23. By Wx, in this and the follow-
ing verse, is not meant Assyria Proper,
ἢ. 6. the countries on the east of the
Tigris, nor Babylonia, but Syria, which
is only an abridgement of the former
name, and specifically that country, as
forming the kingdom of the Seleucid,
from B.c. 245 to B.c. 64; and after-
wards a proconsular Roman province.
Subsequent to the time of Alexander
a freer intercourse obtained between
the Egyptians, and the countries to-
wards the Euphrates ; and the Jews
being transported thither as colonists,
as for instance by Seleucus Nicanor,
Joseph. Antiq. lib. xvi. cap. 10. § 8,
and afterwards forming a great part of
the population of Antioch, the capital
of Syria, the knowledge of the true
God was widely propagated in those
regions, and many proselytes were
made to the Jewish faith. About a
century before the birth of Christ,
that faith was embraced by the kings
of the Homerite Arabians, and, some-
what later, by the princes of Adiabene.
So great was the abandonment of pa-
ganism at Damascus, that the great
proportion of the female sex were
converts toJudaism. Giesler’s Church
Hist. vol. i. p. 31. AUNTY OPIS" 730),
Hitzig, after some others, strangely
renders, “but the Egyptians shall be
in servitude to the Assyrians ;” since
it is clear from the whole scope of the
passage, as well as from the use of 729

CHAP. ΧΧ.]

ISATAH.

181

And the Egyptians shall worship with the Assyrians.

24

In that day shall Israel be the third

In reference to Egypt and Assyria ;
A blessing in the midst of the earth.

25

Whom Jehovah of Hosts shall bless, saying,
Blessed be Egypt, my people,

And Assyria, the work of my hands,

And Israel, mine inheritance.

in a religious sense, ver. 21, it is the
worship and service of Jehovah that
is meant. For the use of nx, in the
signification of with, in company with,
see Gesen. Heb. Lex. nx, ii. 2.

24, 25. These verses have a special
reference to the times of the Hasmo-
nean dynasty, which lasted one hun-
dred and twenty-six years. During
this period most of the remarkable
occurrences took place in Egypt and
Syria which have been noticed above ;
and it was in Palestine, Egypt, and
Syria, that the earliest and most
flourishing Christian churches were
planted. The former were, by the
providence of God, rendered eminently

subservient to the accomplishment
of the prediction. In OS mM
mu is a blending of the genders:
the mas. being first used on account
of the name ‘xi%™ having been that of
the patriarch Jacob; but afterwards
the fem. inasmuch as it was that of
the nation. See on chap. xv. 3. The ἢ
in 1923 is to be taken collectively in re-
ference to Israel, Egypt, and Syria,
mentioned in the preceding verse.
While the two latter are recognised in
terms which are elsewhere appropri-
ated to*the Hebrews, the latter are
still distinguished as ¢he peculiar pos-
session of Jehovah. Salvation was of
the Jews.

CHAPTER XX.

This brief section of the, book belongs to a period somewhere between the
seventh and fourteenth year of Hezekiah, when the Assyrians were ad-

vancing for the first time to attack the Egyptians and Ethiopians.

Sargon

is, indeed, supposed by many to be only another name for Sennacherib, who,
according to Jerome, had not fewer than seven names ; and they think that
the circumstances here described took place in connexion with the expedi-
tion sent by that monarch against Jerusalem ; but the event of his expedi-

tion presents an insuperable objection to this hypothesis.

It cannot be

denied that Tartan is said to have been sent by Sennacherib against Jerusa-
lem, 2 Kings xviii. 17; see on Isa. xxxvi. 1,2. Yet it is quite possible that
he may have been employed on that occasion, in consequence of the success
of a former expedition against Egypt. I agree, therefore, with Gesenius,

Z

182 ISATATL. [CHAP. XX.

Rosenmiller, Maurer, and Hitzig, in the opinion that Sargon occupied the
Assyrian throne during a short period between the reigns of Shalmaneser
and Sennacherib, and that Tartan served as general under both kings.
The name Sargon, written Surkan, has recently been discovered on the
Assyrian monument at Khorasabad, and is the name of the king who built
the palace there.

As usual, the Jews, hearing of the approach of the Assyrian army, cherished
the hope that it would be met and vanquished by the Egyptians. To con-
vince them of the vanity of such hope, Isaiah is commissioned to exhibit, by
striking symbolical actions, the disastrous fate of those in whom they
trusted, 1—4; and to announce the shame and consternation which the dis-
appointment would occasion, 5, 6.

1 In the year in which Tartan came to Ashdod, (when Sargon the
king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod and took
2 it; at that time Jehovah spake by Isaiah the son of Amoz,

saying: Go and loose the sackcloth from thy loins, and take
the shoes off thy feet; and he did so, walking naked and bare-

1. Wx, LXX.”Acoros, Ashdod, was
one of the five principal cities of the
Philistines, Josh. xiii. 3; 1 Sam. vi.
17; the seat of the worship of Dagon,
1 Sam. v. 5; and from its being
strongly fortified, and lying near the
frontiers of Egypt, was reckoned one
of the keys to that country on the
north. It was situated a little inland
from the coast, about fifty miles north
of Gaza, and at the same distance to
the west of Jerusalem. It was fre-
quently attacked, and sustained a siege
on the part of Psammetichus which
lasted twenty-nine years—the longest
recorded on the page of history. It
is at present an inconsiderable village,

known by the name of Cyd] , Lsdud.

2. T3 denotes here, as usual, instru-
mentality, and is not to be rendered,
coram, in conspectu, as Gesenius and

others propose. ων ooh ω"» of the

Koran, Sur. ii. 256, which has been
adduced in illustration, is aside from
the point. The communication was,
indeed, in the first instance made to
Isaiah, LXX. πρὸς ‘Hoaiay: but the
phrase has relation to the whole chap-
ter, and not merely to the command

contained in this verse.—From a com-
parison of this passage with 2 Kings
1.8; Zech. xiii. 4; and Matt. i. 4;
it appears that the Hebrew prophets
wore a mantle, or cloak, of hair-cloth,
as a badge of office, most probably
designed to indicate indifference to
worldly refinement and indulgence ;
and there is every reason to suppose
that Isaiah was thus arrayed, in con-
formity with such custom, and not in
token of any particular mourning.——
ony, zaked. Some interpreters, both
Jewish and Christian, taking this term
in its strictest acceptation, suppose
that the scene must have been merely
allegorical, or, that it was presented
in prophetié vision, and that no real
actions on the part of the prophet
are described ; but such a construction
obviously does violence to the narra-
tive ; since, if he had not acted in the
manner enjoined, he could not have
been “a sign and a wonder” to his
countrymen. It is, therefore, to be
understood literally, to the extent
which the context requires, viz. with-
out the mantle of sackcloth, &c. which
the prophet usually wore. That the
Hebrews and other nations were ac-
customed to speak of persons‘as naked

CHAP. XX.]

3 foot.

ISATAH.

183

And Jehovah said, As my servant Isaiah walketh naked

and. barefoot three years, a sign and a type in reference to Egypt
4 and Cush; so shall the king of Assyria lead the captives of
Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young men and old, naked and

5 barefoot, with their seat uncovered, the shame of Egypt.

And

they shall be afraid and ashamed of Cush their expectation, and

6 of Egypt their boast.

And the inhabitants of this coast shall

say in that day: Behold! thus it is with our expectation to
which we have fled for help, that we might be delivered from
the king of Assyria: How then shall we escape ?

when only partially disrobed, see 1
Sam. xix. 24; 2 Sam. vi. 20 ; John xxi.
7; Cicero ad Fam. x. 32; Sueton.
Nero. li.; Seneca de Venef. v. 13;
Ailian, V. ἘΠ. 6, 11. 13, 37. At the
same time, the language employed in
ver. 4 shews that the prophet must
have been denuded to the utmost ex-
tent which public decency allowed.—
Instead of 722, twenty-nine MSS.,
five others originally, some of the

earliest and best editions, the LXX.,

Arab., Syr., and Vulg., read 77222 in
the plural.

3. Every attempt which has been
made to shew that Isaiah did not ap-
pear in this symbolical state for the
space of three years has proved abor-
tive—being contradictory of the plain
statement of the text. 1t is not, how-
ever, necessary to suppose that he
went about every day in this state, but
that when he did appear in public he
was thus undressed. The period spe-
cified was that which was to elapse
before the actual capture of the
Egyptians. During the whole of that
time the Jews had their attention pro-
phetically directed to the certainty of
the event. The Hebrew accentuation,
the various reading of the LXX., and
the conjecture of Lowth, that om v7,
three days, may originally have been in
the text, are to be traced to a desire
to relieve it of what, after all, is no
serious difficulty. For the meaning
of mpi nix, see chap vili. 17, 18; and
comp. Jer. xliii. 8, 9; Ezek, xii. 3—7,
11, xxiv. 17, 22—24.

4, Ancient history is silent respect-
ing the victories gained by the Assyrians

on this occasion ; but it is doubtless
the same event referred to, Nahum 11]. 8
—10, when No-Ammon, or Thebes,
the residence of the Ethiopian kings
of Egypt, was taken, and its inhabit-
ants carried into captivity. The close
connexion between Egypt and Ethio-
pia at this time, shews that the African
and not the Arabian Cush is meant.—
nw pw, is generally considered to bean
antiquated plural construct, as 7H,
Gen. xlix. 26, 2x0 777), Isa. xvi. 4, the
Tzere having been changed into Patach,
for the sake of euphony. Several co-
dices, however, read ‘pT. On the
royal tombs at Thebes are representa-
tions of captives led away in triumph,
either ina state of complete nudity,
or with a small scarf suspended round
their loins, and hanging down in front.

5, ὉΞῸ and ΓΊΝΕΙ are used for the
object of expectation and boasting,—an
idiom very common in Scripture.

6. °8, which signifies isle, sea-coast,
maritime country, is here to be taken in
a more extended acceptation, as com-
prehending the whole of Palestine,—
so called from its bordering on the
Mediterranean. It is derived from

uss! , se recepit commorandi vel quiescendt
ergo, diversatus fuit: IV. in hospitium
recepit. conte, mansio, sedes commora-

tionis. The only hope of the inhabit-
ants of Palestine being frustrated by
the reduction of Egypt, they had no
power to which they might apply for
defence against the returning army of
the Assyrians, x, after 272), is
emphatic. How then shall we escape?

184 ISATAH. [CHAP. XXI.

CHAPTER XXI. 1—10.

THE SENTENCE OF THE DESERT OF THE SEA.

This chapter contains three prophetic oracles, of which the first respects the
conquest of Babylon by the Medes and Persians, and occupies the first ten
verses. It is full of scenic representation, and is justly characterised by
Lowth as singular for its brevity and force ; for the variety and rapidity of
the movements ; and for the strength and energy of colouring with which
the action and event are painted. Under the image of a portentous storm,
the prophet announces the approach of the army of Cyrus, calls upon the
warriors to advance, and pathetically describes the consternation which their
unexpected attack would produce, 1—4. The king of Babylon and his
princes are then described as indulging in festive security ; but, by a sudden
transition, the Persians are summoned to arms, 5. The advance of the
enemy, and the issue of the attack, are then appropriately depicted, 6—9 ;
and the vision closes with an animated address to the Jewish captives, calling

their attention to what was designed to effect their deliverance, 10.

1 As hurricanes sweeping through the south,

It cometh from the desert,
From the terrible land.

1. Ὁ 7379, the Desert of the Sea, a
very appropriate designation of the
country about Babylon, especially to-
wards the south, which was one un-
broken extensive plain, consisting
either of sterile sandy regions, or of
open fields of pasturage for flocks.
Previous to the construction of dams
by Semiramis, the periodical inunda-
tion of the Euphrates caused the
whole country to assume the appear-
ance of a vast sheet of water, on
which account it was called a sea.
Herod. i. 184. Abydenus SayS @X-
pr essly : : λέγεται δὲ πάντα μὲν ἐξ a ἀρχῆς
ὕδωρ εἶναι, ΘΑΛΑΣΣΑΝ καλεομένην.
Euseb. Preep. Evang. ix. 41, p. 457, ed.
Paris, 1628. Comp. Jer. li. 13, 86. It
is, however, not impossible that there
may bea reference to the artificial sea,
or lake, to the west of Babylon, forty
square miles in size, into which the
water of the Euphrates was turned,
and kept, as in a common reservoir,

for the purpose of irrigating the lands
in the vicinity—The great Arabian
desert lying to the south both of
Babylon and Palestine, the most de-
structive storms come from that direc-
tion. They sweep along with tremen-
dous fury, carrying tents into the air,
and devastating whatever cannot resist
their violence. They are properly
called M50, sweepers, from FPO, to carry

entirely away, destroy; Arab. —slw,

Conj. viii. perire fecit, exterminavit.
Comp. Job 1. 19, xxxvii. 9; Zech. ix.
14.—The ? in Riad marks the gerund.
—The nomin. to 83, is the Medo-
Persian army, understood, though not
expressed. It is said to come from
the desert, i.e. the vast region lying to
the north and east of Babylon, and
which is called το yx, a ¢errible land,
because it was mostly uncultivated,
and the residence of wild beasts.
Comp. Deut. i. 19.

CHAP. ΧΧΙ.]

ISATAH.

185

2 A grievous vision was shewn to me,
The plunderer plundering, and the destroyer destroying ;

Go up, O Elam!

Besiege, O Media !

All sighing I have made to cease.

3 Therefore my loins are full of writhing ;
Pangs have seized me, as the pangs of a woman in labour:
I am convulsed, I cannot hear ;

I am troubled, I cannot see.
4 My heart is bewildered,

Horror hath suddenly seized me;

2. The fem. nu7 is construed with
an adjective and verb in the mas. on
account of the tremendous character
of the subject to which it refers.—723
not only signifies ¢o act perfidiously, but
also, to commit violence, pillage, spotl,

&e.; LXX, ἀθετεῖ: Syr. FQ—>4, perverse

egit, injuriam intulit. "Targ. DN, to
oppress, pluader. Comp. Hab. ii. 5.
Lowth’s change of the Ben. into Pah.
participles is critically unwarranted,
and violates the claims of the con-
nexion.—The enemy is seen by the
prophet, engaged in the work of de-
struction, to effect which he is en-
couraged by an express command
from Jehovah; and the result is
abruptly, but expressively, announced,
—the termination of the sufferings
and sorrows of those whom Babylon
had oppressed. According to the
Masoretes, the 7 in 77728 is Raple, i.e.
it is to be pronounced soft, without
the Mappik, which is found in several
MSS. and printed editions, and is,
therefore, not to be regarded as
a pronominal suffix. It is, indeed,
not unusual to introduce an implied
reference, especially in animated and
abrupt style ; but it seems preferable
to consider the 7 as paragogic and
emphatic, and so expressing still
more forcibly the extent of the sigh-
ing which Babylon had occasioned,
but which was now to cease. See
Ps. iii. 3. Thus Jarchi and Rosen-
miller. 1

3, 4. In these verses the prophet
personifies Babylon, and represents
her as giving expression to extreme
agitation and terror, occasioned by the

unexpected appearance of the enemy.
mn is intensive, and signifies great
writhing, or writhing pain, from 7, to
twist, writhe. Comp. WW, 17, &e.—d
in pdt and Nin expresses negation.—
MOT Hr, lit. the twilight of my pleasure ;
but 4%, which signifies either the
evening or the morning twilight, is
also used for the darkness of night
that intervenes between them. See
chap. v. 11, lix. 10. What the prophet
means is the night which the Babylo-
nians had devoted to pleasure, when
Belshazzar made a great feast to a
thousand of his nobles, and drank
wine out of the sacred cups which
had been taken from the temple at
Jerusalem, Dan. v. Of the festival
celebrated on this occasion, express
mention is made by Herodotus, lib. 1,
191: ἀλλὰ τυχεῖν σφὶ ἐοῦσαν ὁρτήν,
χορεύειν τε τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον, καὶ ἐν
εὐπαθείησι εἶναι, ἐς ὁ δὴ καὶ τὸ κάρτα
ἐπύθοντο : “ but they happened to be cele-
brating a festival, and were dancing
and indulging in pleasure, when they
learned what had happened.” And
Xenophon states in his Cyropeedia,
vii. 7: ‘O δὲ Κῦρος, ἐπειδὴ ἑορτὴν τοι-
αὕτην ἐν Βαβυλώνι ἤκουσεν εἶναι, ἐν ἡ
πάντες Βαβυλώνιοι ὅλην τὴν νύκτα πί-
νουσι καὶ κωμάζουσιν : that “ Cyrus,
when he heard that they were celebrating
a festival at Babylon, in which all the
Babylonians drank and revelled the
whole night,” proceeded to take mea-
sures for the immediate capture of
the city—nw is used impersonally,
and is equivalent to the substantive
verb ™, followed by ?.—Before 71,
subaud. 72, repeated from the preced-
ing clause. Comp. Dan..v. 6, 9.

186

The night of my pleasure

Is to me become one of terror.

The table is arranged ;
The watch is set ;

They eat, they drink :—

or

ISATAH.

[CHAP, XXI.

Arise, ye princes; anoint the shield.
6 For thus hath the Lord said to me:

Go, station a watchman ;

What he seeth, let him declare.
7 And he saw troops of horse by pairs,

5. PY, ΤΌΣ, Ax, and tim, are his-
torical Infinitives, and vividly portray
the security and avidity with which
the Babylonians were enjoying the
feast. The position of ΠΈΣ ΠῈΣ be-
tween JT8T FY and nw Ax is beauti-
fully select. When the tables had all
been prepared, and the king and his
guests were about to sit down to the
banquet, the precaution was taken to
see that the guards were placed at
their posts. The coincidence between
this circumstance, noticed by Isaiah,
and the words addressed to Cyrus by
those who were around Gobrias, one
of his generals, is also remarkable,—
ὡς ἐν κώμῳ δοκεῖ yap ἡ πόλις πᾶσα εἶναι
τῇδε τῇ νυκτί. φυλακῇ μέντοι πρὸ
τῶν πυλῶν ἐντευξόμεθα' ἔστι γὰρ
ἀεὶ τεταγμένη : “the city seems to-
night to be in a general revel, but we
shall meet with a guard at the gates, Sor
there ts always one set there.” Cyropeed.
ut sup. Other interpretations of
mesimpz have been attempted, but
have failed. See Gesenius and Hitzig.
The words are not found in the LXX.
The Hexap. has, after an asterisk,
σκόπευσον τὴν σκοπιάν, but there is
no corresponding translation in the
Hexap. Syriac. The Peshito Syr.,
Targ., and Vulg., render according to
the usual signification of watching,
looking out.—According to Gesenius,
the last clause of the verse contains a
call from the watch to the princes of
Babylon to rise from the tables at
which they were feasting, and hasten
to the defence of the city; but the
words are more probably addressed in
vision by the prophet to the com-
manders of the Medes and Persians,

calling upon them to seize the faveur-
able moment of attack. Comp. Jer.
li. 11, 12; and the words of Cyrus:
ἄγετε, λαμβάνετε ὅπλα. The 72, shield,
was the chief defence of the ancient
warrior. In length it was about half
his height, and generally double its
own breadth. It was most commonly
covered with bull’s hide, (hence ἀσπί-
das βοείας, Iliad, v. 452,) having the
hair outwards, sometimesstrengthened
by one or more rims of metal, and
studded with nails or metal pins.
Sometimes it was suspended by a
thong upon the side, and sometimes
held by a handle. Wilkinson’s An-
cient Egyptians, vol. i. p. 298. 10 was
customary to smear the shields over
with oil, to render them smooth, so
that the weapons of the enemy might
slide off them, and also to prevent
them from being injured by rain.
This was done before engaging in
battle, which accounts for the com-
mand on the present occasion. Comp.
2 Sam. i. 21.

6. Isaiah is here ordered to do,
what would naturally be done under
such circumstances by one anxious to
know the result. The whole is trans-
acted in vision. A watchman is
stationed ; the army of Cyrus is pre-
sented to his view ; he gives the alarm
by describing its appearance; and
finally announces the fall of Babylon,
ver. 7—9.

7. 22), and 123, as well as Won and 723,
are here nouns of multitude. As 27
also signifies @ chariot, most interpre-
ters so render it in the present instance,
and some, with Michaelis, suppose
the war-chariots, armed with scythes,

CHAP. XXI.]|

ISATAT.

187

Troops of asses, troops of camels ;
And listened with the utmost attention.

to be meant, which were first intro-
duced among the Persians by Cyrus.
Since, however, it does not appear that
asses and camels were employed in
the East to draw chariots, or waggons
of any description, the term cannot be
so taken, at least in the connexion in
which it here stands with these
animals; and it is scarcely to be ima-
gined that it would be used in such
close proximity, in two different ac-
ceptations. 12, the verb from which

it is derived, like the Arab. as A

signifies fo ride, either on an animal or
in a vehicle, so that the noun may
equally denote riders, and the animals
on, or the vehicles in, which they rode.
Comp. 2 Sam. viii. 4, x. 18. It must
here be understood as signifying troops
riding on horses,—O'X}2 signifies both
horsemen and horses, especially such as
were used for riding: the parallel use
of camels and asses shews that the
word is to be taken in the latter sense.
122 properly denotes a yoke, from 122,
lo bind, fasten; but as the yoke was
employed for the purpose of binding
two animals together, it easily came to
signify a couple of animals thus
bound, and then ἃ pair or couple in-
definitely, without reference to the
primary signification of the term.
The prophet employs it to describe
the Persian cavalry advancing iz double
ranks :—a circumstance specially no-
ticed by Xenophon: ‘Qs δὲ τὸ τοῦ
ποταμοῦ οὕτως ἐπορσύνετο, παρηγγύησεν
ὁ Κῦρος, Πέρσαις χιλιάρχοις καὶ πεζῶν
καὶ ἱππέων, EIS ΔΥΌ ἄγοντας τὴν χι-
λιοστὺν παρεῖναι πρὸς αὐτόν, k.T.d.
Cyropeed. vii. ὅ, 8. That Cyrus should
have a strong body of hcrsemen might
be anticipated, from the use of cavalry
by the Egyptians and other nations of
antiquity ; but it would seem that
they were first used by the Persians,
in his wars in Western Asia. How
strange soever it may appear, at first
sight, to us westerns, that,asses should
be employed in offensive warfare, it is
certain that the inhabitants of Cara-
mania, a province of Persia, thus used
them: Χρῶνται δ᾽ ὄνοις οἱ πολλοὶ καὶ

πρὸς πόλεμον, σπάνει τῶν ἵππων. ὄνον
τε θύουσι τῷ “Apet, ὅνπερ σέβονται
θεῶν μόνον, καί εἰσι πολεμισταί. “Even
in war they mostly use asses, owing
to the lack of horses; and they also
offer them in sacrifice to Mars, whom
alone of all the gods they worship ;
being a most warlike people.” Strabo,
lib. xv. cap. 2. These animals were
not only useful in conveying the
soldiers forward to the point where
they gave battle to the enemy on foot,
but were also employed for the pur-
pose of scaring his horses. Thus
Herodotus relates, that, in the expedi-
tion of Darius against the Scythians,
the insolence of the asses so terrified
the Scythian horses, that they were
panic-struck. by their braying, and,
pricking their ears, turned about ;
having never before heard the sound,
or seen the form of these animals—a
circumstance which, in some degree,
affected the fortune of the war, lib. iv.
cap. 29. According to Xenophon, a
similar stratagem was used by Cyrus
with the camels, in the decisive battle
which he gained against Creesus, which
proves that he also had them in his
army, conformably to the prediction
in the text. Cyropzed. vii. 1, § 14, 22.
Since, however, it was anciently cus-
tomary for the Bactrians, Parthians,
Africans, and other nations of the
East, to attack the enemy on the
backs of camels or dromedaries, as it
has been since, and is at this day in
Arabia, there is reason to believe that
the like formed part of the military
operations of Cyrus in his war with
the Babylonians. See Diod. Sic. 1].
54, 111. 44; Liv. xxxvii. 40; Strabo, xvi.
3; Herod. vii. 86; Pollux, x. 8; Hero-
dian, iv.15; Gesenius, iz loc. ; Michaelis,
Laws of Moses, vol. ii. p. 499.

In the present case, as in number-
less others, by abandoning the literal
interpretation for one that is sym-
bolical and purely imaginary, the
evidence which the passage affords in
support of the truth of Scripture is
entirely lost. Regarding ΘΒ as de-
noting horsemen, Estius, Tirinus, Sane-
tius, Menochius, Prebend. Lowth, and

188

8 And he cried out like a lion:

ISATAH.

[CHAP, XXI.

On the watch-tower I stood, my lord!

Continually by day ;

And at my post of observation,

I was stationed whole nights.

9 And behold! this came:

Troops of men, horse by pairs.

And he further said :
Babylon is fallen, is fallen !

And all the graven images of her gods he hath smashed to the

ground !

10 O my threshing, and the corn of my floor!

others, suppose the two to be sym-
bolical of Cyrus and Darius; while
some are of opinion that the ass and
the camel are symbolical of the Medes
and Persians !

8. Want of attention to the usage
of the language has led many to
interpret ™x, @ lion, of Darius; but
there is obviously an ellipsis of 3, as,
like, before the word, as “5%, for BY3,
Ps. xi. 1; 1, for m3, Isa. xxii. 23;
ven, for ὝΣΠΞ, 11, 12, ef freg. Comp.
Rey. x. 8. Lowth’s conjecture, that
we should read 1819, which is adopted
by Michaelis, Dathe, and Déderlein,
is altogether gratuitous—The punc-
tists, supposing Jehovah to be ad-
dressed by the watchman, read ‘21,
but as, according to ver. 6, the watch-
man was placed at his post by Isaiah,
the word should be pointed ‘x, and
rendered sir, or my lord, as in our com-
mon version.

9. In the phrase 82 T1737 seems to
be couched the sudden and unexpected
approach of the Persian army—a cir-
cumstance specially noticed by Hero-
dotus: viv δὲ ἐξ ἀπροσδοκήτου opi
παρέστησαν οἱ Πέρσαι; “ But the Per-
sians came upon them quite wnez-
pectedly,” lib. i. 191. Here wx, for
Dw, which was omitted ver. 7, is
supplied, and the other two particulars
there mentioned are left out, being
understood.—2y, lit. to axswer, is used
idiomatically to express the continu-
ance or prosecution of the discourse.
Comp. Gen. xviii. 27, and ἀποκρίνομαι,
in the Hellenistic Greek of the N. T.,
Matt. xi. 25, xxii. 1; only, in the pre-

sent instance, there is, as it were, a
perceptible pause on the part of the
watchman, before proceeding to an-
nounce the result of the hostile ap-
proach of Cyrus—the destruction of
Babylon. The repetition 75) 753
expresses the strong impression which
the fall of that great city had pro-
duced on the mind of the speaker, and
gives emphasis to the declaration.
Comp. Rev. xviii. 2, where the same
formula is employed in application to
spiritual Babylon.—The concluding
clause of the verse contains another
of those prophetic intimations which
receive their confirmation from profane
history, though ofttimes in an appa-
rently quite incidental manner. Hero-
dotus expressly states, lib. i. 131, that
ἀγάλματα μὲν καὶ νηοὺς καὶ βωμοὺς οὐκ
ἐν νόμῳ ποιευμένους ἱδρύεσθαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ
τοῖσι ποιεῦσι μωρίην ἐπιφέρουσι; “The
Persians deem it unlawful to form
images, or construct temples and
altars, and charge those with stupidity
who do so.” They would, therefore,
naturally break them in pieces, when-
ever they fell in their way. The
nomin. to 130 is Cyrus or his army
understood. Followed by yw? the
verb is a vor pregnans; and the full
force of the phrase is, to break in
pieces while levelling with the ground.
The LXX., Arab., Syr., Targ. and
Vulg., appear to have read 13%, and De
Rossi’s Cod. 985, originally read 7303;
but both readings have sprung from
want of attention to the proper nomi-
native-—Comp. Jer. 1. 2, li. 47, 52.

10. The words 9) ‘M72 have

CHAP. XXI.]

What I have heard from Jehovah

I have declared to you.

been variously interpreted, according
to the different views which have been
taken of the person speaking, and of
those respecting whom they are spoken.
The most natural construction is that
which assigns them to the prophet,
and regards them as addressed to his
countrymen who should be in Babylon
at the time of the Persian conquest,
They had been ¢hreshed, i.e. trodden
upon and oppressed by their enemies,
till, by the blessing of God, their
idolatrous practices had been separated
from them, and they lay as clean grain
upon the threshing-floor, ready to be
removed into the garner. The pro-
phet calls them Ais, identifying him-
self with them as his people. 19,

VERSES

ISAIAH.

189
of Hosts, the God of Israel,

a threshing, ov that which has been
threshed, from 11, Arab. plo, cal-
cavit pedibus terram, to tread out grain,
trample upon, crush enemies, captives, ὅζο.

1, a smooth or level area on a rising
ground, or in a field, where grain is

trodden out; Arab. wy? to make

smooth ΟΥ̓ level. J133, lit. the son of my
floor, but used idiomatically for the
grain which was upon it. Comp.
HO, sparks, Job v. 7; MTB, the
arrow, chap. xli. 20, and the Arab.

(So ων» aurora; οὐκ os eiahie
sel ων» luna ; \ SI oth Po

11, 12.

THE SENTENCE OF DUMAH.

11 Onze called to me from Seir:

Watchman! what of the night ?
Watchman! what of the night?

12 The watchman said:

11, 12. These two verses contain a
prophecy concerning the inhabitants
of Dumah, which, from its abrupt in-
troduction, its brevity, and its enigma-
tical character, is somewhat difficult of
interpretation. From 2, Dummh, oc-
curring Gen. xxv. 14, and 1 Chron. i.
30, as the name of one of the descend-
ants of Ishmael, in connexion with
Teman and other Arabian names, it is
most probable that, in this place, we
are to understand by the term, the

Δουμαίθα of Ptolemy, οὐαὶ keosd,

the Rocky Dumah, or Sell] Koy,

Syrian Dumuah, so called from its being
situated on the confines of Arabia
Petraa and the Syrian desert. Thus
Michaelis, Déderlein, Hensler, Ge-
senius, Hitzig, Maurer. On the other

hand, Schmidius, Vitringa, Lowth,
Koppe, Dathe, Rosenmiiller, Booth-
royd, and Jenour, following the ’Idov-
pata of the LXX., consider it to be
merely an abbreviation of DYN, H/om.
The circumstance that the voice is
said to come Vy, from Sei, cannot
strictly be adduced in favour of the
latter interpretation ; since, if we sup-
pose the prophet to have been in
Jerusalem, it must have reached him
from Seir—the north-east mountains
of that country stretching between
Dumah and Judea. The period to
which the prophecy refers seems to
be that during which the Jews were
captives in Babylon. Respecting this
period, metaphorically called the night,
on account of its calamities, (see chap,
xlv. 7 ; Joel ii. 2; Amos v. 18,) the in-
habitants of Dumah scoffingly inquire,

AA

190

ISATAH.

[CHAP. ΧΧΙ.

Morning cometh, and also night;

If ye will inquire, inquire ;
Turn, come.

how far it is advanced. And, to give
greater pointedness to the taunt, the
inquiry is repeated. The inspired
reply is, that morning, i. e. the dawn of
joy and prosperity (see Job xi. 17) is
approaching to the Jews, but that
there is also a night at hand, or a sea-
son of calamity for their enemies.
The prophet then tells them, that, if
they would really know what was in
the Divine mind, they must repent,
and come in the exercise of an humble
and teachable disposition. Comp. Job.
Xxil, 21.—xnx, and 73, are Aramaic,
or imitations of it. The former verb

VERSES

is otherwise used in Heb. with 7 for
its third radical, which a great many
MSS., and the Complut. Bible, exhibit
in this place; the latter occurs only
once besides, Obad. ver. 6, in the sense
of inquiring. Ὑ is used in its meta-
phorical sense of turning to God, repent-
ing, being converted, &c. like the Arab.

Wb, δῦ, conver sid, Ls pententia ;

Syr. and Chald. 562, 37; Rab-

bin. WW, repentance ; and not adver-
bially, to qualify the following verb,
as Hitzig maintains,

13—17.

THE SENTENCE OF ARABIA,

From Dumah, on the very confines, the prophet proceeds to deliver an oracle
respecting the condition to which the Arabians in general should be reduced

within a year after its publication.

Instead of traversing the country as

usual, and pitching their tents at the ordinary stations, or as might best
suit their convenience, the mercantile caravans should be obliged to betake
themselves to the thickets, in order to escape from the sword of the enemy.
To what invasion of Arabia reference is made cannot be determined ; but, as
it must have taken place in the time of Isaiah, it cannot be that by Nebu-
chadnezzar, predicted by Jeremiah, chap. xlix. 23—33; except we were to
suppose that some definite numeral had been dropped out of the text before
m0, Lowth thinks it may have happened in connexion with Sennacherib’s
invasion of Judea, about the fourteenth year of Hezekiah.

13 In the thickets of Arabia shall ye lodge,

Ye caravans of Dedanites !

13. Lowth deems the title, 43 NwD,
of doubtful authority, partly because
it is wanting in many MSS. of the
LXX., and partly because of what he
calls the singularity of the phrase-
ology. The former circumstance is of
little moment, especially as the Greek
MSS. in which it is found are sup-

ported by Aq., Symm., and Theod.
And, as it respects the construction,
though the two identical nouns no.
where else occur with the preposition
3 intervening, yet instances of nouns
thus construed are by no means un-
common. Comp. 3732 7, 2 Sam. i.
22; pova ay, Ps, lxxxiv. 7; VEPpa now,

CHAP. XXI.|

14

ISAIAH.

191

Bring forward water to the thirsty ;

Ye inhabitants of the land of Tema,
Anticipate with his bread the fugitive.

15

Isa. ix. 2; and 2a wa, immediately
following in the verse itself, which in
all probability was prominent in the
mind of Isaiah, when he penned the

title. See also lvi. 9. any, oa mad

Arabia, generally speaking, includes
the whole tract of country, extending
from Palestine to the straits of Babel-
mandel, and from the Red Sea to the
Euphrates, and usually divided into
Deserta, Petrza, and Felix ; but in this
passage, as most frequently in Scrip-
ture, the name more immediately ap-
plies to Arabia Deserta, or the northern,
being that with which the Hebrews
were most familiar. It is peopled by

Bedoweens, «9.» i. 6. inhabitants of

the desert, who have no fixed habita-
tions, but live in tents, (σκηνῖται,
Strabo, xvi. 3; Diod. Sic. ii. 54,) and
move from place to place, according as
they require pasturage for their flocks.
This mode of life they have led from
the most ancient times; as, indeed,
they retain unaltered most of the
‘patriarchal manners and customs.
Through this desert lay the great
route from the Elanitic and Persian
gulfs on the south to Damascus, Tyre,
and Sidon on the north, connecting
the commerce of the Indian seas with
that of the Mediterranean. It still
forms that of the caravans from
Damascus to Mecca. It is to such
caravans, here called nimMs, travelling
compantes, that the prophet refers.
Comp. Job vi. 19. Being stocked with
articles of great value they would
naturally be an object of attack by
the enemy.—lInstead of 23, two of
De Rossi’s MSS. read 3193, in the evening,
but probably a correction from the
Targ., which, with the LXX., Syr., and
Vulg., gives this interpretation.—By
w is not meant a forest of trees, but
a rough or rugged part of the desert,
containing thickets of brush-wood,
briers, &c. which rendered hostile
operations in a great measure imprac-

For they flee from the swords,

ticable. Comp. the Arab. yy locus

salebrosus—OI11, the Dedanites, here
mentioned, are not the descendants
of Abraham by Keturah, Gen. xxv.
3, who occupied a northern tract in
Arabia, bordering on Idumea, but
those of Raamah, specified Gen. x. 7,

who inhabited the island we Daden,

in the Persian Gulf, and most probably
part of the adjacent coast of Arabia,
and were celebrated on account of
their trade with the Pheenicians, Ezek.
xxvii. 15, xxxviii. 13. See Bochart
Phaleg. lib. iv. cap 6; Michaelis,
Spicileg. i. p. 201. It was their cara-
vans, and not those of a tribe in the
immediate vicinity of Tema, that
would be attacked.

14, non, Tema, still called by the

Arabs, (8, Zaima, a region on the ex-
ΩΣ

tremity of Arabia Deserta, towards
Syria. Job. vi.19; Jer. xxv. 23. The
LXX. uniformly render it Θαιμάν, con-
founding it with y2n, which lay in the
eastern part of Idumea. It is only a
few hours’ journey to the east of Hejeh,
which lies on the route of the caravans
from Damascus to Mecca. The in-
habitants are called to perform the
rites of hospitality towards the fugi-
tives—a virtue for which the Arabs
have ever been renowned.—The suff.
in 19m) belongs to ΤΏ, the fugitive ; and
the meaning is, Supply him with the
food which he needs ; just as ὁ ἄρτος
ἡμῶν, Matt. νἱ. 11, means the bread, or
food, which our circumstances require.
—The ancient versions read the verbs
yn, and 277, in the Imper., and justly.
The former is thus used Jer. xii. 9;
and if the latter be not here used in
Kal, it is only necessary to change
the Hiric into Patach, and write "272,
to make it the Imper. of Piel. 799
is a contraction for x7.

15. The cumulative character of
this verse greatly heightens the effect.
For 725, comp. 1 Sam. xxxi. 3, and the

192

From the drawn sword,
And from the bent bow,

And from the pressure of war.
For thus said the Lord to me:

16

ISAIAH.

[CHAP., XXII

In one year more, according to the years of a hireling,

All the glory of Kedar shall be consumed.

And the remainder of the number of bows—

The mighty sons of Kedar shall be diminished ;
For Jehovah, the God of Israel, hath spoken it.

5 - . . -
Arab. dS, molestia affecit, in angustiam

redegit ; ὅλα » vehementia hiemis, adver-

sitas.

16. τῷ, Kedar, an Arabian tribe, de-
scended from Kedar, one of the sons
of Ishmael, Gen. xxv. 13. Comp. Ps.
ΣΧ Os pone 1: oi; Tsay xl. pl ΤΣ; ἡ»
Jer. ii. 10, xlix. 28, 29; Ezek. xxvii.
21.. They are the Cedrei of Pliny,
Hist. Nat. v. 11, and appear to have
taken the range of the desert from the
Red Sea as far as the Euphrates.

Τοῦ Κηδὰρ ἀπόγονοι οὐ πόῤῥω τῆς Ba-
βυλῶνος μέχρι τήμερον ἐσκήνωνται.
Theod. in Ps. cxx. 5. In the present
passage, aS in some of those just
quoted, the name seems to be em-
ployed, in a more extended sense, to
denote the Arabs generally.

17. Mp, dow, stands for NUP, Low-
men. Corap. M72 DW, in the absolute
state, with 3 mtervening. Thus ὝΞΡ,
harvest, chap. xvii. 5, for 32 WR, ὦ
reaper. In our own language, a whip
is used for a driver; a shot, for one
who shoots, ὅτο.

CHAPTER XXII.

THE SENTENCE OF THE VALLEY OF VISION.

This oracle consists of two parts, the former of which respects the inhabitants

of Jerusalem generally, and the latter, an individual of high rank at the
court. Interpreters have found some difficulty in determining whether to
refer the invasion here predicted to that of Sennacherib, or to the desolating
one under Nebuchadnezzar. To make sure of the matter, Vitringa, Jackson,
and others, suppose both to be meant; but without furnishing any satis-
factory exegesis. It appears to me, after a careful examination of the
entire section, that there is no part of it but may, without straining, be
applied to the events which took place in Judea, and especially in the
capital, in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah.

The prophet describes the extreme agitation and confusion of Jerusalem

during the siege, 1,2; the mortality arising from famine already begun, and
the captive state of all who had fled thither for refuge, pent up within her
walls, 2,3 ; his own feelings in prospect of the impending destruction, 4, 5;

CHAP. XXII.]

ISATAH.

193

and the preparations of the besieging army, 6,7. The defensive measures
adopted by the inhabitants are then narrated, accompanied with a severe
reproof for their confiding in these measures, and not in Jehovah, and their
abandoning themselves to unholy and infidel mirth, instead of humbling
themselves, and repenting, as became them, in such alarming circumstances,
8—14. The remainder of the chapter is occupied with a prophecy respect-
ing a change in the office of treasurer, which took place about the same

period of Jewish history.

1 Waar aileth thee now, that all belonging to thee

Have gone up to the roofs ?

2 Thou that wast full of commotions,
The noisy city, the joyous city!
Thy slain are not the slain by the sword,
Nor such as have died in battle.

3 All thy rulers flee together,

1. That yrut 3, the valley of vision,
means Jerusalem, is beyond all doubt,
though the phrase occurs only in this
place. Being surrounded with hills,
and for the most part by a deep valley,
by a branch of which it was also in-
tersected, it might with all propriety
be called by the latter term. See Ps.
exxv. 2; Jer. xxi.13. The established
‘use of 7 in reference to prophetic
vision, and the circumstance that
Jerusalem was the principal seat of
divine revelation, Luke xii. 33, 34,
prove that such is the acceptation in
which the word is here to be taken.
The agreement between }V7 and 79,
Moriah —both signifying vision, is
purely incidental—The prophet begins
to address the inhabitants in the
character of a stranger, or as one
ignorant of the cause of the universal
commotion. Comp. Luke xxiv. 17.
Their object in assembling on the
roofs of the houses, which were flat
and spacious, as those of Eastern
houses are at this day, appears to have
been to make their observations on
the position and strength of the
enemy, and to concert measures of
defence.

2. περ «nindp., For the sake of
emphasis, the noun is placed before
the adjective by which it is governed.
Gesen—The prophet contrasts the
formerly prosperous and joyful condi-

tion of Jerusalem with her present
calamitous circumstances. On com-
paring the latter distich with Lam. iv.
9, it seems evident that by 722 we
are to understand such of the inhabit-
ants as had died of famine. See 2
Chron, xxxii. 11. Either this con-
struction must be put on the term, or
it is to be taken figuratively in refer-
ence to the state to which they were
reduced by fear, which is less natural.

3. The scene here depicted is still
in Jerusalem; consequently, the differ-
ent members of the verse must be
explained accordingly. 22 is, there-
fore, to be taken in the sense of
fleeing from the council-chamber—
each of the rulers repairing to his
family, or to some particular part of
the city where he expected safety.

Comp. the Arab. Jj, II. and IV. dis-

gregavit, dispersit camelos; VI. ls,

disperst sunt, huc illuce a se tnvicem aufu-
gerunt. Freytag. Theod. μετεκινήθησαν.
Yet though they might thus flee, they
were still in a state of captivity;
though not bound or taken captive by
the bowmen, they were confined with-
in the walls of the city as effectually
as if they had been prisoners of war.
—ntp, dow, is used for archers, as
chap. xxi. 17; and the Ὁ prefixed is to
be taken in a negative sense, aS in

194

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XXII.

Without the bow, they are made prisoners ;
All found in thee are made prisoners together,
Even those who have fled from far.

4 Wherefore I say, Look away from me;

I will weep bitterly,
(Strive not to comfort me,)

For the desolation of the daughter of my people.
5 For it is a day of tumult, and of treading down, and of confusion,
From the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, in the valley of vision ;

A calling out on the wall,

And a crying to the mountain.

own, Job xi. 15; We, chap. xxi. 9;
1229, Isa. xiv. 19. The archers, acting
as light infantry, were the part of
the army chiefly employed in taking
prisoners. ‘Ox signifies properly ove
who ts bound ; but it is also used to de-
note one who is ina state of captivity,
or confinement, irrespective of the cir-
cumstance of binding, Gen. xl. 3, 5;
contrast Judg. xvi. 21. Comp. the Arab.

|, construcit, captivum fecit; yw),
5᾽ ᾿ J
captivitas ; "3, ibid. Not only were

the rulers and all the ordinary inha-
bitants pent up as prisoners within
Jerusalem, but those also who, on the
approach of the Assyrian army, had
fled thither from distant parts of the
country were in the same condition.
It is to this confinement during the
siege that the prophet refers, and
not to any actual flight or capture of
the fugitives, as most commentators
imagine.

4, The more to affect the minds of
the Jews, the seer describes the incon-
solable condition into which the scene
had thrown him, and begs them not
to attempt to comfort him. See Jer.
xiii. 17; Lam. ii. 11; Micah i. 8, 9.
For WW, one of Kennicott’s Codices
reads 120, which some have thought is
supported by the LXX., Arab., Syr.,
and Targ. ; but this is uncertain, since
10, from 110, has much the same sig-
nification. This reading was probably
introduced from Lam. iv. 10.

5. °2 further assigns the cause of the
prophet’s grief; and he traces the
calamity to the punishing hand of

Jehovah. For the formula 775 oY,
see chap. ii. 12. The three genitives,
MDI DIM W170, form at once a paro-
nomasia and a climax, The first de-
notes a state of xoisy confusion; the
second, that of persons treading upon
each other in their eagerness to escape
from danger; and the third, the hope-
less perplexity to which they are reduced.
7a, the root from which 7772 is de-
rived, signifies ¢o entangle, as in a thicket

or labyrinth; Arab. Ab, confusum

turbatumque fuit negotium ; VII. Turbata
mente et turbatis rationibus fuerunt homi-
nes. Ἢ Wr, another instance of
paronomasia. W772, Jarchi and Kimchi
take to be a denominative from
the following word, Ὁ, a wall; but
Gesenius, Winer, and others, refer
it to 1p, to dig, and render, digging
through, or undermining, the wall. In
Numb. xxiv. 17, the only other pas-
sage in which the Pilpal form occurs,
the relation in which it stands to yao
shews that it is used in the acceptation
of destroying ; hence the LXX. mpovo-
pevoer; Vulg. vastabit. Here, how-
ever, the parallel term, 2%, suggests
the idea of crying, crying out, which is
the signification of the corresponding

“2...

Arab. form, yr barrivit camelus ;

vocem edidit gallus ; clariorem vocem in
eee reciprocavit mugiens camelus.

reytag, and Michaelis’s Supplem.
No. 2292. To render the assimilation
of the words more palpable, Ἢ stands
for "IY, on the wall. So great were
the vociferations of the despairing
inhabitants of Jerusalem, that they

CHAP. XXII.|

6 For Elam beareth the quiver,

ISAIAH.

195

With chariots of men and horse;
_ And Kir uncovereth the shield.
7 Thy choicest valleys are full of chariots,
And the horse draw up at the gate.
8 And the vail of Judah is removed,
And now thou lookest to the armour of the forest-house.

reached the surrounding mountains,

“ Resonat magnis plangoribus ether.”
Virg. Ain. iv. 668.

6, 7. Isaiah now proceeds to de-
scribe the appearance of the besieging
foe. From this verse, compared with
2 Kings xviii. 11, it is evident that
Elam or Persia was in the time of the
prophet subject to the Assyrian power.
The Elamites, or Elymei, furnished
a large body of troops, who were
mostly archers. Στρατιώτας τρέφει
τοξότας τοὺς πλείστους. Strabo xv. 3.
12. Forming the light infantry, they
are mentioned in distinction from the
war-chariots, and cavalry, also fur-
nished by the Persians; and from the
Median or Caucasian warriors, who
employed the sword and spear. Hence
the appropriateness of the allusion
here, and Jer. xlix. 34,35. See Rosenm.
Bib. Geography, chap. vi. The other
foreign troops, specified as forming
auxiliaries in the Assyrian army, came
from the region on the Kur, V7, Κύρος,

Armen. 4acp, which takes its rise in

the mountains of the Caucasus, and,
flowing through Tiflis, the capital of
Georgia, joins the Araxes before it
reaches the Caspian Sea. The name

of Georgia, δος. δ, Girjistan, is

obviously a derivative from this an-
cient name. The natives of the Cau-
casus still wear shields, as I had an
opportunity of observing when tra-
velling there in the year 1821. Those
which I saw were made of wood or
strong leather, and surrounded on the
outside with iron. See Biblical Re-
searches and Travels in Russia, Lon-
don, 1826, 8vo. p. 485. From the
statement made by Isaiah, they appear
to have preserved them in a cover

while on their march, in order that
they might not be injured by rain or
dust. Comp. the clypeorum involucra
of Cicero, De Nat. Deor. ii. 14. For
other Biblical references to this region,
see 2 Kings xvi. 9; Amos i. 5, ix. 7.
-Ν 12) is the same as Wx 22), chap.
xxi. 9; so that there is no necessity,
with Lowth, to adopt the conjectural
emendation of Houbigant, Ὅτ 223,
chariots of Syrians —The Ὁ prefixed
to DWE in seven MSS., originally in
two more, and four printed editions,
is most probably a supply of the
ellipsis. It is also expressed in the
Targ—inwd nv, lit. placing, they place,
z.e. themselves ; but the Infin. is here
used substantively, and the meaning
is, the cavalry take their station, or
draw up in regular order. Thus the

Fala
Syr. co320m3, tustruent sese.

8. THM yoo, the veil or covering of
Judah, means the fortified places in
the country which Sennacherib had
already taken, 2 Kings xviii. 13. The
root is 920, which signifies ¢o cover,
protect, and the derivative is used of
the curtain before the entrance of the
tabernacle, court, &c. Exod. xxvi.
36, xxxv. 17. Gesenius supposes the
language to be that of reproach; the
figure being taken from the wanton
and violent tearing away of a vail
from a virgin; and adduces from the

life of Timur, las!) Wado a) ω»,

ere the vail be removed; denoting the
exposure of a people to the greatest
indignity by the enemy. From the
antithesis in this verse, it would rather
seem to indicate the defenceless con-
dition of a people, than any aftront
offered them. We may, however,

compare the Arab. ys velum, cortina ;

196

ISATAH.

[CHAP, XXII.

9 Yeregard also the breaches of the city of David, which are many,
And ye collect the water of the lower pool.
10 Ye number also the houses of Jerusalem,
And break down the houses to fortify the wall.
11 And ye make a reservoir between the two walls,

For the water of the old pool

But ye look not to Him who doeth this,
Neither do ye regard Him who long since devised it.
12 For the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, calleth on this same day

ων 5 res omnes qua alia tegitur ; elypeus,

murus, seu lorica ejus.— WI ma stands
for prada wma, the house of the forest ψ'
Lebanon, i.e. the cedar palace which
Solomon caused to be constructed of
trees from Lebanon, 1 Kings vii. 2—7,
x. 21; which appears afterwards to
have been converted into an arsenal.
Comp. Neh. iii. 19. It is supposed to
have been built on the acclivitous
part of Mount Zion eastward, to which
was given the name of Ophel. The
means of defence from without having
been taken possession of by the
Assyrians, the inhabitants now per-
ceived that the only resource left was
to furnish themselves with anadequate
supply of weapons from the armoury,
and offer all the resistance they could
from within.—The phrase, 877 D¥a, zz
that day, possesses in this connexion
the least possible extension of mean-
ing: it only connects the two events
specified closely together in point of
time. Comp. ver. 12, where it is used
to express the present time, or that
during which the events were passing.
The entire passage is a description of
the present, not a prediction of the
future.

9—l1. The city of David formed the
most southerly and highest part of
Jerusalem. It lay on Mount Zion, and
was surrounded with a separate wall,
which appears at this time to have
fallen into decay. It derived its
name from the circumstances of
David’s taking the citadel of _the
Jebusites, which stood there, and his
making it his royal residence.—The
numbering of the houses seems to
refer to an inspection undertaken
with the view of ascertaining which

might most conveniently be demo-
lished ; or reference may be had to
certain houses being pulled down in
order to obtain materials for repairing
the wall. In 32nn, the Masoretes mark
the second nas Raphe, 1.6. there is an
omission of the Dagesh compensative
for the first radical—ondn, the two
walls, 1.6. the one which Hezekiah
‘caused to be repaired, and the exterior
one which he built, 2 Chron. xxxii. 5.
—The old pool was the same as the
upper pool, chap. vii. 3; called also the
king’s pool, because its waters irrigated
the royal gardens, Neh. ii. 14, 11. 15.
By contriving to throw up a wall
round it, and along the passage which
he caused to be dug for its waters into
the city, the king at once deprived
the Assyrians of them, and secured
a supply for the inhabitants. For
further notices respecting the locali-
ties here mentioned, see chap. vii. 3.
—While the Jews were active in pre-
paring various means of defence, and
had their attention fixed upon them,
they forgot God, who, in accomplish-
ment of an eternal purpose, had
brought the calamity upon the city.
Amos, iii. 6. The repetition of the
same verbs, 023, and 7s}, in the 11th
verse, which had been employed vers.
8, 9, adds to the force of the antithesis.
-- ἜΣ, to form, fashion, has here the sig-
nification of forming in the mind, pur-
posing, determining. See chap. xxxvii.
26, and comp. Gen. vi. 5.

12, 13. Instead of humbling them-
selves and confessing their sins before
the Lord, agreeably to the call which
he had sent them to that end, the
Jews indulged in every species of riot,
and unblushingly gave expression to
sentiments the most epicurean and

CHAP. ΧΧΙΠ]

ISAIAH.

197

To weeping and to lamentation ;
And to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:

13

But, behold! joy and gladness,

Slaying oxen and killing sheep,
Hating flesh and drinking wine !
—Let us eat and drink; for to-morrow we dic!

14
By Jehovah of Hosts:

But it is revealed in my ears,

This guilt shall not be pardoned you till ye die,
Saith the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts.

15 Thus saith the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts:

infidel. Nothing more strikingly
evinces the strength of human de-
pravity than trifling and reckless
bravery when men are on the brink
of destruction.—For the effect of the

deny the resurrection of the dead, 1
Cor. xv. 32; and the sentiment they
convey frequently occurs in heathen
writers. See Wetstein, or Bloomfield ;
and the poem of Tarafa, in the Moal-
lakat, ver 63.

14, mn—T22, lit. Jehovah hath re-
vealed himself, i.e. made the following

revelation. Comp. the Arab. Je,

clarus fuit, manifeste patuit: V. reve-
latus, retectus, ac manifestatus fuit, ut
Deus homini ; bike? , revelatio. 383,
in my ears, instead of x, to me, from
the idiomatic use of jis 73, fo wxcover
the ear, make a communication to any
one, 1 Sam. xx. 2, et freg—dx, If, a
formula of swearing which possesses
a strong negative power. With δ it
has an affirmative signification. See
chap. v. 9, where the same introduc-
tory style is employed, only with an
ellipsis of 7222.—pnomny, fill ye die, i.e.
never. The impious Jews should be
visited with calamity upon calamity,
till finally Nebuchadnezzar would
destroy the city. The Targum ex-
plains the death here mentioned of xn‘
xvain, the second death in the world to
come, which is unwarranted.

15. Having executed his commission
with respect to the ungodly inhabit-
ants of Jerusalem generally, Isaiah
now receives a message to deliver to
Shebna, the steward of the royal
house, who, in all probability, set an
example of sensual indulgence and
irreligion, which greatly promoted
these evils in others. Scholz supposes
him to have been a powerful statesman
in the time of Ahaz; and that Heze-
kiah found him in office at the time of
his accession, but was unable for some
time to remove him from his situation.
This oracle appears to have been
delivered much about the same time
with the preceding. Nor can we doubt
that Shebna and Eliakim mentioned
in this prophecy are the same persons
whom we find spoken of, chap. xxxvi.
3, Xxxvii. 2. It is true Shebna is said
there to have filled the office of ἜΘ,
scribe or secretary, which was a situation
inferior to that of prefect of the
palace, then held by Eliakim ; but his
predicted degradation may have com-
menced with his removal to this
inferior post, and been first completed
by his transportation to Assyria, ver.
18.725, Gesenius interprets in the
sense of friend, and supposes it to
denote the familiar friend of the king;
but it seems preferable to derive its

signification from the Arab. | Sw,

quietus, tranquillus fuit, habitavit, Heb.
72v, and refer it to the residence of
Shebna in the palace, for the purpose
of administering its affairs, supplying

BB

198

Go in now to this steward,

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XXII.

To Shebna, who is over the household, [and say, |

16

What hast thou to do here? and whom hast thou here ?

That thou hewest out here for thyself a sepulchre ?
—He heweth out his sepulchre on high!
He cutteth out a mansion for himself in the rock !—

it with provisions, ἕο. Hence ων.»

alimentum. The Targ. accordingly ren-
ders it by 8078, distributor, adminis-

trator ; and Saadias, Jus 4; which has

the same signification. With this is
easily connected the idea of projit,
wealth, &c. Job xv. 3, xxii. 2, Xxxv.
3; cherishing, 1330, 1 Kings i. 2, 4.—
The addition of ™7, the emphatic
form of the demonstrative pronoun,
to 7260, “¢his steward,” is expressive
of a high degree of contempt. See
Exod. xxxii. 1.—Who is over the house-
hold, is a more specific description of
the office designated by 720. The
Vulg., Targ., and several interpreters
understand ™27, the house, as signifying
the temple, and consider Shebna to
have been the high-priest ; but, though
the term ™2 is unquestionably used
both of the tabernacle and the temple,
the whole phrase, ™27°y Ws, is never
appropriated to designate the high-
priest. Between δὲ and 29 there is
often no difference of meaning, both
being indiscriminately used in the
sense of ¢o.—Two of Kennicott’s
MSS., the LXX,, Syr., Targ., Vulg.,
Arab., and Saad., add v2x m2N}, and
say to him, which has probably been
dropped out of the text.

16. We are not to conclude from
the formula, 4379, that Shebna was a
foreigner, or, at least, that he was not
a native of Jerusalem. It merely
points out the incongruity of such a
profane character seeking to per-
petuate his memory by a splendid
mausoleum at Jerusalem. Comp. Jer.
ii.18. Both in this and the co-ordinate
question is couched the idea that
neither he nor any of his family should
remain there. In the second distich,
the vanity and folly of his making the
preparations referred toare graphically
expressed in consequence of a change

from the second to the third person,
which allows the prophet by way of
derision to point to him as thus
occupied. The " in the participles
127, and ΡΤ, is paragogic, and is used
in poetry without at all affecting the
sense. See Gen. xlix. 11; Deut.
xxx. 16; Zech. xi. 17.—It was cus-
tomary in the East for kings, and
other persons of high rank and dig-
nity, to have magnificent sepulchres
excavated in the solid rock, in which
their remains, and those of their rela-
tives, were deposited in sarcophagi.
Witness the immense chambers in
the face of the mountains about
Persepolis and other places in Persia ;
those of Petra, recently discovered ;
the crypt of Latikea in Syria, and
various places in Asia Minor; and the
sepulchres described by Maundrell,
Clarke, and other travellers, as still
visible in the rocks about Jerusalem ;
especially those which extend along
the side of the ravine to the south-
west and west of Mount Zion, and
those on the north of the city, com-
monly called the sepulchres of the
kings. See 1 Kings 11. 10; 2 Chron.
Xxxil. 33; where, as Lowth justly
observes, 72 should be rendered fhe
highest, or most elevated, in point of
position, of the royal sepulchres dug
out in Mount Zion itself. Neh. iii.
16.—dN9, elevation, as freq. for D1V23,
on high, high, &c. Speaking of the
great mountain-sepulchres to be seen
at Persepolis, Sir Robert Ker Porter
observes, “The face of the mountain
is almost a perpendicular cliff, continu-
ing to an elevation of scarcely less than
three hundred yards; the substance
is a whitish kind of marble. In this
have been cut the celebrated sculp-
tures and excavations, so long the
subjects of discussion with the tra-
veller, the artist, and the antiquary.
These singular relics of Persian great-

CHAP. XXII.]

ISATAH.

199

17 Behold! Jehovah will cast thee headlong, O thou mighty!
And he will grasp thee firmly :

18 Whirling thee round and round, he will toss thee
Like a ball into a wide country :

There thou shalt die,

ness are placed very near each other,
and are all contained within the space
of not quite the height of the moun-
tain. Those highest on the rock are
four ; evidently intended for tombs,
and as evidently of a date coeval with
the splendour of Persepolis. The
range below vary in ability of execu-
tion ; and are all in a very inferior
taste to those above.” Travels, vol. i.
p. 521. The use of the term, }20»,
habitation, in application to the grave,
is quite in accordance with modes of
speech current in the East, and other
parts of the world. Thus Solomon
speaks of man going at death to "3
wry, his everlasting or long-enduring
house, Eccles. xii. 5. The Phoenicians
also called the sepulchre, Ἐν m1 417,
the chamber of the eternal house; and

the Arabs use wines mansio, inter-
changeably with ye sepulchrum, to
which they also give the name yo

NI, the eternal habitation. Comp.
what Diod. Sic. says of the Egyptians,

1. 51, τοὺς τῶν τετελευτηκότων τάφους
ἀϊδίους οἴκους προσαγορεύουσιν, ὡς
ἐν ἅδου διαστελλόντων τὸν ἄπειρον
aidva—From the circumstance that
the prophet was commanded, ΝΞ, to go
in to Shebna, and, from the commence-
ment of his address to him, it would
appear that he was in the sepulchre at
the time—most likely feeding his
vanity with the survey of its princely
dimensions. How unwelcome, at such
a moment, the announcement con-
tained in the following verses !

17, 18. The original is here pecu-
liarly impassioned, and possesses a
graphic power, to which no translation
can pretend. Not only are there two
instances of the repetition of the
same word, to which the Hebrew
writers are extremely partial, but
immediately following these, we have

the three different forms, 7)2¥ 7222) ΠΣ,
which equals in beauty the πόνος πόνῳ
πόνον φέρει of Sophocles, Aj. 866, or
the δόσιν κακὰν κακῶν κακοῖς of Ais-
chylus, Pers. 1046. Two other ex-
amples occur, chap. xxvii. 7, in the
lines :—

ὙΡΊΒΙΤ NID NIT

SUPT Ge

In like manner Micah ii. 4:—
172 ΠΕΣ

Comp. also Isa. x. 16, and xxix. 14,
and the beautiful paronomasia of
Paul, μὴ ὑπερφρονεῖν map’ ὃ δεῖ φρονεῖν,
ἀλλὰ φρονεῖν εἰς τὸ σωφρονεῖν, Rom.
xii. 3.—20700, and 79070, are strongly
intensitive forms, derived from the
root 59, ¢o be ony; in Hiph. to throw

down at full length; Arab. kb, longus

Suit; 11. ix longum extendit ; IV. in
longum fecit ; prolongavit. See Ewald’s
Gram. § 235, where 7970 is rendered
to hurl.— 22, Lowth, Dathe, Jenour,
Jones, Gesenius, Maurer, and others,
take to be a substantive, used adjec-
tively to qualify 77070, which they
consider the less usual form of the
feminine construct, as did Joseph
Kimchi and other Rabbins. The Syr.,
however, David Kimchi, Lib. Rad. sb
voce. 9, Munster, Pagninus, Leo Juda,
and, among the moderns, Hensler,
Rosenmiiller, Boothroyd, Hitzig, and
Scholz, read it in the vocative; which
is preferable. It differs from 23,
which more appropriately describes
one distinguished for military valour ;
whereas 123 simply conveys the idea of
power, violence, insolence, &c.; Arab.

ye religavit, consolidavit ; V. super-

bivit, exrtulit se; and comp. pe V.

semet extulit et superbivit. It may,
however, after all, be only used in this
place as ἄνθρωπε is by Paul, Rom. 11,

200

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XXII.

And there shall be thy splendid chariots ;
Thou disgrace to the house of thy lord!

19

For I will drive thee from thy post,

And pull thee down from thy station.

And it shall be in that day that I will call my servant,

Even Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah ;

21

And will clothe him with thy robe,

And bind thy girdle around him ;
And thy government will I commit to his hand,
And he shall become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,

And to the house of Judah.

22 I will also place the key of the house of David upon his

shoulder ;

3, λογίζῃ δὲ τοῦτο, ὦ ἄνθρωπε: and by
Galen: οὐ βούλει μαθεῖν, ἄνθρωπε, τὴν
τῶν Ἑλλήνων διάλεκτον, to give inten-
sity to the sentence———7uY is here
used, not in accordance with the sig-

nification of (ke, obscura fuit nox,

tezit rem, so as that the meaning
would be wrap or roll up, a8 In a

mantle—but with that of lle, manu

accept rem; ad festinandum impulit
aliquem, Kamoos; and expresses the
sudden and resistless grasp with which
one lays hold on any person or thing
with a view to secure its expulsion.—
—F2z, whence 22, a tiara or turban,
signifies to ¢wist or roll round, as the
Orientals do in wrapping their turbans
round their heads, It is employed in
this place to describe the significant
action of whirling a stone or ball
several times round with the hand, or
in a sling, in order to acquire strength
and steadiness of aim before throwing
it toadistance. The triple use of the
word, as noticed above, gives singular
effect to the passage-—By the j OX
orn nam, lit. the land wide of hands, is
meant the extensive country of As-
syria, into which Shebna was to be
carried captive. There he should
behold in the hands of the enemy the
splendid equipages in which he was
accustomed to ride in state about
Jerusalem ; and there he was to end
his days in disgrace.

19. The prophet descends from the

highly figurative language which he
had employed, and, in plain terms,
announces to Shebna his removal
from office. This he does by intro-
ducing God himself as addressing him,
and then continues the address in the
third person—a change very common
with the prophets——Both nouns, 239,
and 72¥2, convey the idea of fixeduess
or stability, and enhance the force of
the language. Instead of ἼΘ᾽, one
of De Rossi’s MSS., the Syr., Vulg.,
and Saadias, read ΠΡ τς, but the change
was most likely effected to remove the
enallage persone.

20—22 contain a prediction of the
transfer of the insignia of office to
Eliakim, the new steward, and of the
happy consequences of his adminis-
tration. 0228, which is elsewhere only
used of the splendid girdles worn by
the priests, is of uncertain derivation.
Most are inclined to regard the δὶ as
prosthetic, and trace a connexion be-

tween it and Nu, lend, a Persie word

signifying a band or vinculum; but it
is more probably of Egyptian origin.
For the signification of 38, a father, as
here used, see on chap. ix. 5. Instead
of the pride and egotism of Shebna,
the inhabitants would find in Ehakim
the tenderness and benevolent care of
a parent—In the East the key is a
symbol of power or authority, with
special reference to palaces, treasures,
stores, &c. It resembles a sickle with
a long handle ; and the crooked part

CHAP. XXII.]

ISATAH.

201

And he shall open, and none shall shut;
And he shall shut, and none shall open.
23 Yea, I will fasten him as a peg in a sure place,
And he shall become a throne of glory to his father’s house ;
24 And they shall hang upon him the whole multitude of his

father’s house ;
The offspring and the offsets,
All the vessels of small size,

is so formed as to allow of its being
suspended on the shoulder or round
the neck. That it actually formed
part of the insignia of office, and that
the language is not to be taken figura-
tively, is unquestionable. Among the
Greeks it was worn as a badge of
sacerdotal dignity. Katwpadiav δ᾽ ἔχε
κλεῖδα, Callim. in Cerem. ver. 45. See
Lowth’s Note.

From the language of ver. 22, being
in part appropriated by our Lord to
assert his sole and exclusive power,
Rey. 111. 7, many have supposed that
what is here said respecting Eliakim
was designed to apply to him in his
mediatorial capacity; but the inter-
pretation is altogether arbitrary.
“ Locum hunc ad Christum perperam
nonnulli transtulerunt: quando pro-
pheta duos inter se homines comparat,
nempe Sobnam et Eliacim. Privabitur
Sobna: succedit autem Eliacim. Quid
hee ad Christum?” Calvin, ἐμ /oe.
A similar figurative application Christ
makes of the words, when investing
Peter with apostolical authority, Matt.
xvi. 19.

23. 1, Arab. a Plur. ob,), pan-

illus; clavis ligneus, qui in terra vel
pariete pangitur. 'The word is used of
the pins or small stakes driven into
the ground for the purpose of fasten-
ing a tent, the cords of which hook
into them. It is also employed to
denote a large peg or wooden pin,
such as the Orientals fix in the walls
of their houses, for the purpose of
hanging upon them household uten-
sils, vails, and other articles in con-
stant use. See Ezek. xy. 3, where the
question is put respecting the vine:
202 Yop nino ay woo anprox, Will they
take a peg from it on which to hang any

vessel? The prophet here uses it me-
taphorically, in application to the sup-
port which Eliakim would yield to all
his dependent relations. Comp. Ezra
ix. 8; Zech. x. 4. In like manner,
Pharaoh is said in the Koran, xxxviii.

11, to be obs 99) the Possessor of the

pegs, i. 6. the lord of princes, or per-
sons high in station, on whom others
depended.—7a1} N03, a glorious seat or
throne, is the elevated chair or place
of honour usually ornamented with
gold, silver, &c. Comp. 1 Sam. ii. 8.
The meaning is, that he would be a
great support to his family, by pro-
curing for them, through his influence
with the king, situations of emolu-
ment and honour.

24, 132, which had been used in
the preceding verse, is here repeated,
but in the acceptation of abundance or
multitude. That of glory does not suit
the following enumeration, which in-
cludes vessels of inferior character.—
Both Dxgez and nivee are botanical
terms,—the former descriptive of
what comes out of the earth generally,
and applied figuratively to children,
Job v. 25, xxi. 8; Isa. xlviii. 19, lxi. 9;
the latter, of the worthless shoots of
trees, and, excepting in this passage,
only used figuratively, in the form
voz, of the progeny of vipers, chap.
xiv. 29. Comp. ‘2%, Isa. xi. 8, lix. 5.

The mas. rps, Arab. ened » signifies ez-

crementum, for which 78% and 7s‘ are
also used; hence the idea of vile,
ignoble.—™ 32, the Targ. Syr. and
Vulg., render, musical instruments, which
signification the word certainly has,
in application to the ναβλία, a species
of harp or lyre; but its occurring
here, in immediate connexion with

202

ISAIAH.

[CHAP, XXIII.

From those used as cups even to all used as pitchers.
25 In that day, saith Jehovah of Hosts,
The peg shall be removed that is fastened in a sure place ;
Yea, it shall be cut down and fall ;
And the load that is upon it shall be cut off:

For Jehovah hath spoken it.

mix, requires that of dottles or pitchers.
The LXX. reduces the whole descrip-
tion to: ἀπὸ μικροῦ ἕως μεγάλου. All
belonging to Eliakim, whatever their
stations or employment, would be bet-
tered in their circumstances by his
elevation. .

25. The Targ., Jerome, Michaelis,
Hitzig, and Scholz, consider Eliakim
to be the person here intended, and
suppose his future fall to be predicted ;
but Jarchi, Kimchi, Munster, Forerius,
Calvin, Vitringa, both the Lowths,
Déderlein, Dathe, Rosenmiler, Gese-

nius, and Hensler, more properly refer
the words to Shebna, to whom, at the
close of his message, the prophet
transfers the language which he had
just employed, in order to assure him,
that however firmly he and his family
might now think themselves estab-
lished, their fall was certain.—v23, is
the term commonly used for cutting
down a tree, or any thing made of wood,
and is therefore appropriately used in
application to the wooden peg, which
could not otherwise be removed with-
out endangering the wall.

‘CHAPTER XXIII.

THE SENTENCE OF TYRE.

The next object of prophetic denunciation is Tyre, the great antiquity, com-
mercial prosperity, and prowess of which Isaiah here describes. He also
forcibly depicts her unexpected destruction by the Chaldwans, whom, in the
time of the prophet, the Assyrian monarch had only just settled in the
country about Babylon, but who are represented as the instruments em-
ployed for effecting the purpose of Jehovah, 1—16 ; he limits the period of
her depression to seventy years, 17; and predicts the revival of her com-
merce, the proceeds of which should not, as formerly, be hoarded up in
treasuries, but devoted to advance the interests of the church of God, 18.
The language is terse, highly figurative, and sublime,—quite in the style
of our prophet, but unlike that of any later writer. The occurrence of
row for M8, and ΤΡ for Tw, ver. 11, and the use of the term 7%, in
reference to the Nile, ver. 3, which some have alleged against his being the
author, are so trifling, as scarcely to deserve notice. See the notes to these
verses.

Tyre having sustained three sieges by Asiatic powers : the first by Shalmane-
ser, in the reign of Hezekiah, B.c. 717; the second by Nebuchadnezzar, B.c.
573; and the third by Alexander the Great, B.c. 332; interpreters are

CHAP. XXIII.] ISATAH. 203

greatly divided in their opinions in regard to the application of the pro-
phecy. To the last of these, however, few have been disposed to refer it.
Grotius, Greve, Hensler, Volney, and recently, Gesenius and Maurer, think
the first is intended ; but that the second is the only one to which the
oracle can consistently be applied, is more or less ably maintained by
Jerome, Vitringa, Lowth, Michaelis, Déderlein, Dathe, Eichhorn, Bertholdt,
Rosenmiiller, De Wette, Hengstenberg, Hitzig, and Scholz, how much soever
they differ in their views respecting the writer, and the authority of his
prophecy. The most specious reason alleged against this opinion is that
advanced by Gesenius; viz. that in heathen writers there is a total silence
respecting the actual subjugation of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar ; but (not to
insist on the very passing character of the references to the siege found in
these authors, see Joseph. Antiq. lib. x. cap. 11, § 1; Con. Apion, i. § 21)
that commentator, more than once in his Commentary, is obliged to admit
that events specified by the Hebrew prophets may have happened, though
no information can be obtained respecting them from foreign sources.
Besides, the very circumstance that no notice is taken of the result of
the siege affords presumptive ground for believing that it was successful ;
since, had it been otherwise, it was scarcely possible to avoid mentioning it.
But, however it may be in regard to foreign sources of information, the
Scriptures are positive in the decision which they deliver upon the subject.
Ezekiel expressly predicts the fall of Tyre as the consequence of the attack
of Nebuchadnezzar, chap. xxvi.4—21. Nor does the declaration made chap.
xxix. 18, at all contradict this prophecy: the meaning obviously being, that
what the king of Babylon found in Tyre was no adequate remuneration for
the hardships and losses which his army had sustained, and the immense
expense to which he had been put during a siege of thirteen years’ contin-
uance. We may, therefore, reasonably acquiesce in the remark of Reland,
respecting the entertainment of doubts upon the subject: “ Certe Christi-
anos id non decet. Deus predixerat. Hoc sufficit. Res ita evenit, uti
preedicta est, etiamsi nulli veterum literis id consignassent.” Palestina, tom.
ii. p. 1050. Compare, in illustration of this chapter, the sublime parallel
predictions, Ezek. xxvi. xxvii. xxviii.

1 How1, ye ships of Tarshish,
For it is laid waste ;

Though not so ancient as Zidon, of

1, W, in full, W2; Arab. py? the

Sarra of Virgil and Juvenal, and the
Sara of Plautus ; Gr. Τύρος, ΤΎΒΕ ; the
celebrated emporium of the Pheeni-
cians, situated on the coast of the
Mediterranean, within the confines
of the tribe assigned to Asher, but
never subdued by the Israelites.

which it was originally a colony, it
was of great antiquity, ver. 7, Josh.
xix. 29; and was built partly on the
continent, and partly on an island
opposite, at the distance, according to
Pliny, of seven hundred paces from
the shore. To the former was given
the name of Palatyrus, (Παλαιὰ Tupos,)

204 ISATAH.

[CHAP, XXIII.

There is neither house, nor entrance !
From the land of Chittim it is disclosed to them.

Old Tyre, on the supposition that it
was built before the insular part, which
latterly became so celebrated. It is,
however, uncertain whether the island,
which was advantageously situated
for maritime transactions, did not,
from the first, form an out-port, or
station, with warehouses, in which
were deposited the principal articles of
Phoenician traffic. The continental
city appears to be that specially meant
by the phrase, 27222 VW», the Cily of the
Sortress of Tyre, or, of the fortress on the
Rock, Josh. xix. 29, comp. 2 Sam. xxiv.
7, in allusion to the rock of which the
island is composed, and opposite to
which it lay along the coast, to the
distance of thirty stadia southward,

near the present } \,. Ras-el-ain.
Ρ SE OY)

Diod. Sic. xvii. 40; Curtius, iv. 2;
Plin. v. 17; Strabo, xvi. 2. At this
place are still visible vestiges of the
aqueduct built across the isthmus to
Tyre. Though at first inferior to
Zidon, Tyre soon surpassed it, and
was for ages the great centre of com-
merce in the ancient world. She
planted colonies along the coasts of
Asia Minor, Greece, Cyprus, Libya,
and Spain ; among others, the popu-
lous and powerful Carthage. Till after
the days of David and Solomon, with
whom Hiram the son of Abibaal, king
of the Tyrians, was in close alliance,
the inhabitants appear to have carried
on their mercantile pursuits unmo-
lested; but they were at length at-
tacked by Shalmaneser, who, after a
blockade of five years, was obliged to
abandon the attempt to subdue them.
A renewed attack was made by Ne-
buchadnezzar, who, though the city
made a resistance of upwards of thir-
teen years, succeeded in reducing it,
and bringing it under the power of
the Babylonians. It was afterwards
taken by Alexander the Great, B.c. 332 ;
regained much of its importance as a
commercial city under the Seleucidz
and the Romans ; and continued to be
a place of considerable note even in
the time of the Crusades. Till within
some years past, it has been reduced

to a miserable village, containing only
about fifty or sixty poor families ;
though relics of its ancient splendour
lie scattered, in numerous and beauti-
ful columns, along the beach. The
causeway of Alexander is now covered
by an isthmus of sand about 500
French metres in length.

The prophet begins by addressing
himself to the passengers and crews
of those Tyrian merchantmen which
were homeward bound, at the time of

the fall of the city ; and while he calls

upon them to bewail the disastrous
event, he states how they became ac-
quainted with it: vz. through the
medium of Pheenician colonists on the
islands and coasts of the Mediterra-
nean, which they were accustomed to
pass on their return. For the mean-
ing of Zarshish, see on ver. 10. By
ὉΠ IX, the land of the Chittim, are
meant the islands and maritime re-
gions on the northern shores of the
Mediterranean, especially those on the
coasts of Greece and the Aigean sea.
Comp. 1 Mace. i. 1, where Alexander
is said to have gone forth ἐκ τῆς γῆς
Χεττειείμ, and viil. 5, where Perseus is
called Κιτιέων βασιλεύς. There seems
no sufficient ground to extend the sig-
nification of the name to Italy and its
islands, as Bochart and others have
done. The M2, or 0°73, were, accord-
ing to the genealogical table, Gen. x. 4,
descendants of Javan, by whom also,
in all probability, the island of Cyprus
was first peopled. Hence Κίτιον, Ci-
tium, the name of its capital city,
which, from its contiguity to Tyre,
and its importance on other accounts,
was chiefly inhabited by Phoenician
colonists ; as indeed, according to He-
rodotus, vii. 90, were most of its
cities. That this island is to be in-
cluded among the Chittic regions here
referred to, cannot be doubted; but
it is not exclusively meant, as Gese-
nius supposes. On the contrary, the
use of the plural Oxy, Ezek. xxvii. 6,
satisfactorily shews that more than
one island or maritime region are in-
tended. The news of the fall of Tyre

would speedily be communicated from .

CHAP. XXIII.]

ISATAH.

205

2 Be astonished, ye inhabitants of the isle,

Which the merchants of Zidon, that crossed the sea, supplied.
3 For on the great waters was the produce of Sihor ;

The harvest of the river was her revenue :

And she was the mart of nations.

one colony to another, so that those
who were returning from Spain would
be informed of the catastrophe, at
whatever port they might happen to
touch.—For the privative force of [9 in
sia M2, see chap. xvii. 1. Not only
would the residences of the merchants
and their warehouses be destroyed,
but so complete would be the destruc-
tion of the place, that the harbour or
quays would be inaccessible. Comp.
Ezek, xxvi. 4, 5.

2. Ὁ Vitringa understands collec-
tively of the coasts of the Mediterra-
nean: but it is rather to be inter-
preted, as at ver. 6, of Tyre itself,
with special reference to the island,
which, in a maritime point of view,
occupied the most prominent place.
Hendewerk thinks it comprehends the
whole of the Pheenician coast.—0?2},
to be still, silent, to be struck dumb with
astonishment, Lam. 11. 10. The impera-
tive is used for the future to express
the certainty of the predicted calamity.
Before pT? WO supply Ws. By the
merchants of Zidon are meant, not sim-
ply or strictly those resident in that
city at the time, but Phenician mer-
chants generally. LXX. μετάβολοι Φοι-

vikns.—}iTz, Zidon, still called, ἴδιο,

Saide, which, according to Strabo, lay
at the distance of two hundred stadii
north of Tyre, appears originally to
have been merely a fishing station ;
for such the name imports: but at a
very early period it became a cele-
brated mercantile city. Jacob speaks
of it in his time in connexion with
shipping, Gen. xlix. 13; and Joshua,
chap. ΧΙ. 8, xix. 28, calls it great Zidon.
The name was also given to the whole
territory, to some extent round the
city ; whence the term Zidonians came
tocomprehend the Pheenicians in gene-
ral,—the Tyrians themselves also in-
cluded. Thus Ethbaal, whom Menan-
der (Joseph, Antiq. viii. 13.2) informs

us was king of Tyre, is called “king
of the Zidonians,’ 1 Kings xvi. 31.
Comp. chap. v. 1,6. And Homer re-
peatedly speaks of the Σιδονίοι, when
referring to Phoenician arts and wares,
without ever mentioning Tyre, though
this city must have already, in his
time, been in a very flourishing con-
dition. Zidon was indeed speedily
eclipsed by its rival, and generally
shared its fate. On several existing
Phoenician coins, the name, D212 ἘΝ, the
mother, i. 6. the metropolis, of the Zido-
nians, is given to Tyre. Inthe present
day, it seems to be again rising into
some importance ; containing upwards
of eight thousand inhabitants ; and
carrying on a considerable commerce.
A few scanty remains of the ancient
city are still discoverable in the
vicinity.

3. Michaelis, Hengstenberg, and
others, consider the language of the
prophet to be metaphorical, and sup-
pose him to speak of the produce of
the sea, or the widely-extended mari-
time trade of the Pheenicians, as being
to Tyre what the rich harvest accruing
from the inundation of the Nile was
to the Egyptians. It is more natural
to take the words literally, as descrip-
tive of the extensive trade in Egyptian
grain carried on in Pheenician vessels,
which was first exported to Tyre, and
thence conveyed to various ports in
the Mediterranean. Though Egypt
abounded in grain, yet the inhabitants
left its exportation to foreigners. He-
rodotus expressly mentions that Phce-
nicians of Tyre inhabited the district
round the fane of Proteus, at Memphis,
and from this circumstance the dis-
trict was called “the camp of the
Tyrians,” Ὁ. 11.112, Naucratis, on the
western branch of the Delta, was
otherwise the ancient emporium for
foreign commerce.—For the applica-
tion of τῶ, Shzhor, to the Nile, comp.
Jer. ii. 18, where it unquestionably has

cc

200

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XXIII.

4 Be ashamed, O Zidon! for the sea hath spoken,
The fortress of the sea, saying :
I was not in labour; neither did I bear children ; .
I nourished no youths, neither did I bring up virgins.
5 As at the report concerning Egypt,
So shall they be in pain at the report of Tyre.

6 Cross over to Tarshish ;

Howl, ye inhabitants of the isle!

7 Is this your joyous city,

Whose antiquity is of ancient days ?
Her own feet bear her to sojourn afar !

this signification ; and that it cannot
have any otherreference here isevident
both from the circumstances of the
case, and from the use of the parallel
term δ, commonly used of the same
river. The Shihor mentioned Josh. xiii.
3, and 1 Chron, xiii. 5, is merely the
“Ῥινοκόρουρα, or El-arish, a torrent on
the confines of Egypt and Palestine.
The name, which is derived from WW»,
to be black, obviously refers to the tur-
bid appearance of the Nile, which for
the-same reason the Greeks called
Μέλας, and the Latins Melo. The seed
and harvest are said to be those of
that river, because they were produced
by its inundation. The fem. pronom,
suffix in 7nNIn belongs to °x, the isle,
ver. 2. The best comment on the last
clause of the verse is furnished Ezek.
XXVil.

4, Sidon is again put for Pheenicia,
or the Phcenicians, in general. To
render 0 more definite, the prophet
adds ἘΝῚ 122, the fortress of the sea,
which describes the maritime situation
and strength of Tyre. Comp. Ezek.
xxvi. 17, xxvii. 4,25; Zech. ix. 3. So
entire should be the desolation of the
place, that, to the eye of the spectator,
it would appear never to have been
inhabited. To express this more
strongly a personification is employed.
Before 22 repeat 8), with the LXX,,
Vulg., Targ., Syr., and Arab.

5. Most translators and commenta-
tors suppose that the prophet here
refers to the report of the fall of Tyre
reaching Egypt ; but it is more pro-
bable he had in view the terror and

consternation which seized the Canaan-
ites when they heard of the destruc-
tion of the Egyptians at the Red Sea,
—so beautifully described in the ode
of Moses, Exod. xv. 14, Yo corres-
ponds to θοῦ, and > to mx 0, in
that passage.

6. Again using the imperative for
the future, Isaiah predicts the only
resource left to the Tyrians—the dis-
tant Tartessus, to which they would
proceed by sea, and thus be out of the
reach of the enemy. Those who had
connexions in that colony would natu-
rally repair thither; just as after-
wards, when attacked by Alexander,
the inhabitants of Tyre fled to Car-
thage, and the islands of Greece.

7. The language of astonishment at
the change which had taken place in
her condition. Formerly all was proud
exultation ; now all was silence. The
interrogative form implies, in such
connexion, the strongest affirmative.
However incredible, such was the state
to which Tyre should be reduced.
Before πρὴν supply YY, or ™7.—That
Tyre was very ancient all authorities
agree. The priests of Hercules boasted
to Herodotus that their temple, which
was built on the island, was of equal
antiquity with the city herself—both
having been founded two thousand
three hundred years before the time
when he consulted them. Hist i. 44.
Arrian says of the same temple that
it is “vetustissimum eorum, que hu-
mana memoria serventur.” Hist. 1.
16. Strabo, b. xvi. speaks of Tyre as
next to Zidon, μεγίστη τῶν Φοινίκων

CHAP. XXIII. |

8 Who hath purposed this

ISAIAH.

207

Against Tyre, the dispenser of crowns ;

Whose merchants are princes,

Whose traders are the honourable of the earth ?
9 Jehovah of Hosts hath purposed it ;
To defile the pride of all the elegant,
To render contemptible all the honourable of the earth.
10 Overflow thy land like the river, O daughter of Tarshish!

καὶ ἀρχαιοτάτη πόλις. According to
Josephus, it was built two hundred
and forty years before the foundation
of Solomon’s temple ; but it has, with
great probability, been conjectured,
that some numerical inaccuracy has
here crept into the text of the Jewish
historian ; for, as we have seen, it is
already mentioned as a place of note
in the time of Joshua. Justin ascribes
its origin to Agenor, the father of
Cadmus, and dates it from the year be-
fore the destruction of Troy.—In the
combination, A272 ΘΠ) Ὁ Ὁ, is an easy
paronomasia.—Some, with Grotius,
understand 90, her feet, figuratively,
as denoting the ships of Tyre, by
means of which her inhabitants went
to distant parts, to plant colonies, το. ;
but there seems no just reason why
we should depart from the literal sig-
nification of the term, which is merely
empioyed for the purpose of shewing
that they betook themselves to flight,
and were not led away captive by the
enemy—an idea which 727 might
otherwise have been thought to ex-

press. Comp. the Arab. es vehe-

menter propulit predam.

8, 9. Such was the prowess of Tyre
that she was considered invincible by
human arms. Her destruction, there-
fore, though mediately effected by the
Babylonians, could only be accounted
for by resolving it into the purpose of
Jehovah, who gave them the victory. —
ΤΥ ὭΣΤ, coronatrix, coronam imponens,
refers to the power which she exer-
cised in the Pheenician colonies, be-
stowing the regal dignity at her plea-
sure. That Arad, Arke, Carthage,
Citium, Tartessus, &c. were governed
by kings under the supremacy of the
mother-state, clearly appears from the

statements of the ancients. By oy,
princes, are meant senators and coun-
cillors, who were chosen from among
the opulent merchants to augment the
magnificence of the court. Comp.
Ezek. xxvi. 16. The synonymous
ys77222. comprehends all who filled
posts of dignity. Gesenius and Scholz
render incorrectly, the opulent of the
earth——72P22, lit. her Canaanites ; but
as the inhabitants of Canaan were ce-
lebrated for their commercial pursuits,
the term came to signify merchants
generally. Job xl. 30; Hos. xii. 8.
‘12, splendour, beauty, refers to the
niwy, crowns, bestowed by Tyre, ver. 8,
(comp. 127, Ps. Ixxxix. 40,) and
stands for ἊΣ ΣΝ, men of splendour, the
magnates of Tyre and her colonies.—
Between ὙΠ᾿ and 73)) is a striking anti-
thesis ; the latter word signifying to be
laden, heavy with honour ; the former
to make light, remove the weight of
honour, sender contemptible. Comp.
chap. vii. 23.

10. This verse most interpreters
deem very obscure; but this obscurity
has chiefly arisen from want of atten-
tion to the idiomatic force of ΠΣ,
daughter of Tarshish. Vitringa, Lowth,
and others, suppose Tyre herself, or
the Tyrians, to be meant, and attempt
to justify their interpretation on the
ground that Tyre being ruined, Tar-
shish must be considered as occupying
her place as mother of the Phenician
colonies ; but, as I have shewn in the
note to chap. i. 8, the words can only
properly mean the inhabitants of Tar-
shish ; and here such inhabitants in
contradistinction from the Tyrians.—
By ww, there can no longer be any
reasonable doubt, we are to understand
Tartessus, the ancient and celebrated
emporium of the Pheenicians, situated

208

The restraint 1s no more.

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XXIL.

11 Jehovah hath stretched his hand over the sea,.
He hath caused the kingdoms to shake ;

between the two mouths of the river
Betis, (now Guadalquiver,) on the
south-western coast of Spain. To this
port they conveyed the produce of
the East; and procured, in return,
gold, silver, and iron, from the mines
which abounded in that country, and
lead and tin from the Scilly islands.
Herod. iv. 152; Plin. iii. 3; Mal. 11.6;
Strabo, iii. 147—149 ; Bochart, Phaleg.
ili. 7; Michaelis, Spicileg. i. p. 82;
Diod. Sic. ν. 35—38; Ezek. xxvii. 12—
25. How long it flourished we are
not informed. It was no longer in
existence in the time of Strabo, iii.
151. The LXX. do not seem to have
known it; at all events they either
retain the name in the form Θάρσεις,
Θάρσις, or render Kapxndév, Carthage
—never Ταρτησσος, or Ταρσηΐον, as the
word is spelt in Polybius and Steph.
Byzant. From Ps. Ixxii. 10, where
ww 2 occurs in contradistinction
from 81D) 81D 30, the term appears to
have been used in a more extended
sense, as comprehending all the mari-
time nations in the west of Europe.
Abulfeda says, that Tunis, built from
the ruins of Carthage, and only two
miles from them, was also called

Tarsis : ws lghe write us a)
ἜΣ ry pwd: Whether Solo-

mon’s fleet, fitted out at Eziongeber,
on the Alanitic arm of the Red Sea,
doubling the southern promontory of
Africa, proceeded to Tartessus, or whe-
ther it went to a place of the same
name in India, cannot be determined.
There may have been a Spanish and
an Indian Zurshish, just as the name
India came to be transferred from the
East to the distant West. So much
seems certain, that in none of the pas-
sages in which Tarshish occurs can
Tarsus in Cilicia be intended.—The
prophet here announces to the natives
of Tartessus, who had been brought
into subjection to the Pheenicians,
that they were now at liberty to
spread themselves over their own

land; the band by which they had
been held in restraint having been
broken, Considering the extent to
which slavery existed among the an-
cients, there is little doubt that the
powerful Tyrian princes reduced num-
bers of the native Spaniards to bon-
dage, compelling them to work in the
mines, &c. m2 here, and Ps. cix. 19,
like M9, Job xii. 21, properly signifies
a girdle, but may be. used to denote
that with which any person is bound,
and tropically the power by which a
people is held in subjection ; which in
the present case was Tyre. Thus the

m mo
Syr. woN\ Land? he who drives, or
The root is mm, Arab.
jp move away ; and the form is that

impels thee.

of the participle in Hiph. lke 209,
1 Kings vi. 29; 9, Ezek. xxxi. 3.
That the comparison is taken from
the inundation of the Nile is clear,
both from the use of the appropriated
word τ, and from the aptness of the
reference ; the waters that were pent
up flowing over the face of the coun-
try as soon as the mound is broken
through. The LXX., reading ‘729 in-
stead of 2Y, render ἐργάζου τὴν γῆν
ood, cultivate thy land, and then para-
phrase, καὶ yap πλοῖα οὐκέτι ἐρχόνται
ἐκ Καρχηδόνος, for ships no longer come
Jrom Carthage:—an excellent sense,
were it all warranted by the original;
but this not being the case, Michaelis
was quite unjustifiable in adopting it.

11. The nominative to 3, is Tin,
following, a mode of construction not
infrequent in Heb. poetry, but which
is best expressed in western languages
by employing the noun first. 0, the
sea, means those who trade by sea, the
Pheenicians. Comp. ver. 4. The ni3229
are the petty states or kingdoms of
the Pheenicians, as Tyre, Zidon, Ara-
dus, &c. This the use of 723, Canaan,
immediately after clearly shews. 1525
is here specially employed to denote
Phenicia, or that part of Canaan which
lay at the foot of Lebanon, and so

CHAP. XXIII.]

ISAIAH.

He hath given charge concerning Canaan,

To destroy her strongholds.

12 Yea, he hath said, Thou shalt exult no more,
O violated virgin, the daughter of Zidon.

Arise! cross over to Chittim τ᾿

Yet there thou shalt have no rest.

called on account of its low situation,
from 523, to bend, be low, depressed ;

τ
Arab. εὖ » contractus fuit, inclinavit in

occasum stella, &c.; se submisit. That
its inhabitants appropriated the name
κατ᾽ ἐξοχὴν to themselves, appears from
their coins, and from the fact that it
was also retained by the Carthaginians,
who came originally from the same
coast. See Gesenius iz Joc.—28
stands for TUT), as 22 for 7227),
Numb. v. 22. In such cases the 7 is
omitted, as in the Fut. and Part. of
Hiph., and its vowel is assumed by
the °. The } in Tuya is not a Chal-
deeism, as Vitringa, Eichhorn, and
others imagine, the idiom in such
case requiring it to be placed before
the tand not after it; but a rare in-
stance of the Nun Epenthetic before a
pronominal affix. The nearest ap-
proach I can find to it is 53», his exist-
ence ; for % is properly a substantive,
though frequently used as a substitute
for ™7. It seems better to adopt
such resolution of the difficulty, than
with Michaelis and Jahn to consider
the 2 to be radical, and then attempt
to derive a meaning to the word from

the Arab. "ἢ 7.5 or a Sia Gesen. in-

geniously compares 72 for mY, Lev.
xi. 13, with the present instance of
Wyn for Trp. See Lex. Robin. Ed.
1844, p. 775. The strongholds of Ca-
naan to which the prophet refers were
doubtless Old and Insular Tyre, Sidon,
Arke, Aradus, &c., which were de-
stroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Perhaps
Carthage, Tartessus, and other cities
fortified by the Pheenicians, may also
be intended ; for we learn from Strabo
and Megasthenes, that this monarch,
after the reduction of Tyre, conquered
Egypt, penetrated the north of Africa
as far as the Pillars of Hercules, and
even subdued Iberia, or Spain.

12. The daughter of Zidon means

the Zidonians, just as the daughter of

Tuarshish, ver. 10, means the Tartes-
sians, and not Tyre exclusively, as
some interpret: yet the appellation is,
in this connexion, to be extended to
those inhabiting the Pheenician terri-
tory generally, and is not to be re-
stricted to such as belonged to the
city of Zidon. See Gesen. ἐμ voc. ΡῈ,
The Orientals are accustomed to speak
of a country or city which has never
been conquered, as an unviolated
virgin. Such Zidon, or Pheenicia, as
a whole, had been down to the attack
of Nebuchadnezzar. The country had,
indeed, been overrun by the army of
Shalmaneser, and many of the cities
had submitted to that monarch; but
the Tyrian fleet gained a complete
victory over the combined squadrons
of the Assyrians and apostate Phoeni-
cians, and though the island sustained
a siege of five years, it remained un-
subdued—Shalmaneser being obliged
to raise the blockade. Menander, in
Joseph. Antiq. 1x.14. By Nebuchad-
nezzar, however, Insular Tyre was
myn, violated. and subdued. Several
MSS., the Alex. copy of the LXX.,
and the Arab., read jr na, “daughter
of Zion ;” but obviously from the
mistake of transcribers.—The latter
half of the verse contains a predic-
tion (couched, as frequently to ex-
press certainty, in the form of the
Imper.) of the flight of the Phceni-
cians to the islands and countries of
the Mediterranean, and the unsettled
state in which they would find them-
selves there. It has been doubted
whether this refers to the troubles to
which they would be subjected by the
inhabitants of these regions, or to
their being pursued thither and an-
noyed by the Babylonians; Jer. xxv.
22 decides in favour of the latter
opinion.

210

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XXIII.

13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans!

That people which was not,

(Assyria assigned it to the inhabitants of the desert)—
They have erected their towers ;

13. Having described the author
and effects of the calamity to be
brought upon Tyre, the prophet now
proceeds to describe the instruments
by which it would be inflicted. In
answer to an implied question—where
is there a people to be found able to
subdue the strongly fortified, opulent,
and populous mart of nations? he
points to the Chaldeans, and shews
that though insignificant and despic-
able, and dependent for a territory
upon others, yet they would advance
with a formidable apparatus, and lay
her in the dust. D'TH2, OPT TM, and oy,
are in apposition, and supply the nomi-
natives to the following verbs.—The
ow2, Chasdim, Chaldeans, as a tribe,
were of great antiquity. They are
supposed to have sprung from 13, the
son of Nahor, brother to Abraham,
whose native place was O'w32 ὌΝ, Ur of
the Chasdim, and originally to have in-
habited the northern part of Mesopo-
tamia and the Carduchian mountains
adjacent to Armenia. But the name
is traceable still farther back ; for it
forms one of the components of T0275,
Ar-phaxad, (Araph-CHESED,) the name
of the third son of Shem, Gen. x. 22,
&c. from whom the Chesed mentioned
Gen. xxii. 22, was himself descended.
In the earliest notice which we have
of them in a tribal state, Job i. 17,
they appear as addicted to a wild and
predatory mode of life. Jeremiah, v.
15, speaks of them as DYY9 "2, ax
ancient nation, but evidently in the
laxer acceptation of that term, so that
there is no real contradiction between
his statement and that made by Isaiah
in the present verse. Of the circum-
stances connected with their settle-
ment in Babylonia we are totally
ignorant. Most probably they had
lands assigned them in reward of
certain services rendered to the king
of Assyria, on which occasion they
changed their wild and roving habits,
by which they more resembied wild
beasts (0%) than men, for those of a

civilized organization. That it was
the portion of Chaldzeans who lived in
Mesopotamia that were thus located,
may be gathered from the fact, that
Xenophon and Strabo speak of Chal-
deeans, in their time, inhabiting the
mountains near Armenia and Colchis,
of which the present Kurds are very
likely the descendants. The period of
their location must have been shortly
before Isaiah wrote. Gesenius thinks
it not improbable that it is to be dated
from the commencement of the era of
Nabonassar, B.C. 747; otherwise called
the era of the Chaldeans. By 1x we
are not, with Lowth, to understand a
king of the name of Ashur, but as
usual, Assyria, or the Assyrians. In
the course of time, the Chaldeans
acquired very considerable influence
in the empire, and ultimately, under
Nabopollassar, B.c. 597, asserted their
independence. That prince, contract-
ing an alliance with Cyaxares, king of
the Medes, conquered Assyria, and
reducing Nineveh its capital, trans-
ferred the seat of empire to Babylon;
whence, under his son Nebuchadnezzar,
the powerful army went forth, which
conquered Judea, Phoenicia, and Egypt.
The Chaldzan rule terminated with
Belshazzar, when Babylonia became a
Persian province,and afterwardsshared
the fate of the Persian empire.—j x,
land, is here used in the proper accep-
tation of country, place of location,
and not of people, as Gesenius erro-
neously interprets. This the use of
the verb 1% clearly proves. Indeed,
he is obliged to allow that this signi-
fication attaches to it, as implied in
the suffix 7. Dry ΠῚ is employed,
δεικτικῶς : this is the people, the very
people which, notwithstanding their
not being found in the list of nations
or empires, Jehovah hath purposed to
use as his instruments in destroying
the mighty Tyre—o»s; deserticola,
such as live in rude and uncultivated
regions. The term is used both of
wild beasts and human beings; see

‘

CHAP. XXIII.]

ISATAH,

211

They have demolished her palaces ;

They have made her a ruin.

14 Howl, ye ships of Tarshish,

For your stronghold is laid waste.

15

And it shall come to pass in that day,

That Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years,

Like the days of a king ;

At the end of seventy years there shall be to Tyre
As it were the song to a harlot.

16
Thou harlot forgotten !

Strike skilfully the chords ;

Take the harp; go about the city,

sing many songs,

"Τὴ order that thou mayest be remembered!
17 For it shall be at the end of seventy years,

note to chap. xiii. 21. It is to be
taken here in the latter sense, as
descriptive of the rude and unculti-
vated condition of the Chaldzeans pre-
vious to their settlement in Babylonia.
—The Mas. affix in yp7a belongs to
a», the people, i.e. the Chaldzeans; and
the Fem. affix in P2728 and ANY, to
Tyre understood. pa, Keri }73, az

artificial mound or fort. Arab. ws

arena accumulata, what is raised, either
for the purpose of serving as a watch-
tower, or for the purpose of attacking
a city during a siege. Comp. }13, chap.
xxxli. 14, Such the Chaldean army
would throw up on their arrival before
Tyre, and thence annoy the inhabit-
ants. mis, high and noble buildings,

palaces, from ὉΠ πε ον, Arab. use to

raise, be high,—not harems, as Mi-
chaelis conjectured. Ὑ is the Poel of
vw, to make naked, bare, demolish, &c.,
rather than from Ὃν, ¢o wake, wake up.
Those who prefer the latter derivation,
refer the action to the excitement of
rebellion in the palaces of Tyre, by
which her strength would be weak-
ened; but the former seems the more
natural construction. So Rosenmiiller,
Gesenius, Maurer, and Scholz. The
proper nomin. to 72 is OY, taken as a
collective. The meaning of the whole
verse is briefly this: the Chaldeans,
formerly barbarous and unknown as a

state, but established in Babylon by
the Assyrians, shall besiege Tyre,
storm her palaces, and reduce her to
ruin. Comp. Hab. i. 6—11.

14, Here the first part of the pro-
phecy terminates, and that for the
most part in the same words with
which it commenced, ver. 1.

15—17. The prophet specifies the
length of the period during which
Tyre should remain in a state of deso-
lation and neglect. Most interpreters
regard the seventy years as those
during which the Jews were to be in
captivity, at the expiration of which,
not only were they to be restored to
their own land, but the Babylonian
yoke being broken, Tyre and the
neighbouring states should also be at
liberty to resume their former mer-
cantile occupations: The only real
difficulty in the verse is created by
the words 78 722", commonly ren-)
dered, as the days of one king. This
difficulty appears to have presented
itself to the LXX. who translate: ws
χρύνος βασιλέως, ὡς χρόνος ἀνθρώπου,
adding the latter words by way of
explanation, but in reality not render-
ing the passage at all clearer. To refer
the words to the period of Nebuchad-
nezzar’s life or reign seems altogether
unwarrantable ; as, indeed, it likewise
does to understand by 779, not a king,
but ἃ singdom or dynasty. Equally
objectionable is the solution proposed

212

ISAIAH.

[CHAP, XXIII.

That Jehovah shall visit Tyre ;
And she shall return to her hire,
And play the harlot with all the kingdoms of the earth,
That are on the surface of the ground.
18 But her gain and her hire shall be holy to Jehovah ;
It shall not be stored up, nor hoarded ;
But her gain shall be for those who dwell before Jehovah,

by Hensler, who considers 778 to be
used here as an ordinal, and the phrase
to signify the first king, just as We DY
signifies the first day, Gen. i. 5. The
only way of untying the knot is to
take 178 as equivalent to our indefinite
article. Thus, as 7x Ὁ, “a basket,”
Ex. xxix. 3; 1x wx, “aman,” 1 Sam. i.
1; ΠΝ >x,“@ ram,” Dan. viii. 3; so our
text will simply read, “like the days of
a king:” i.e. forgotten. It is notorious
matter of observation, that, generally
speaking, no persons are sooner con-
signed to oblivion than monarchs, even
the most powerful and illustrious.
Take, for example, Napoleon, whose
name, after the lapse of little more
than twenty years, is scarcely ever
mentioned. In like manner, during the
period specified, Tyre should be for-
gotten. No mention would be made
of her glory. However, at the end of
that period, it is predicted that she
should again bestir herself, and engage
in foreign commerce as in former days.
This commerce or intercourse with
foreign nations, the prophet compares
to that of a harlot with her lovers.
Comp. Nah. iii. 4; Rev. xviii. 3. She
would now make use of every art by
which to bring herself again into
notice.—737 NV, is the genitive of
object, and must be rendered, the song
to an harlot, as the connexion obviously
demands. This ditty follows in the
16th verse, the language of which is
peculiarly terse and appropriate. It
is a song of taunt or satire—As the
destruction of Tyre is ascribed to
Jehovah, so her future prosperity is
attributed to the kindness of his
providence. The term 72x, Aire, refers
to the comparison, ver. 15, but is
explained ver. 18, by "0, commercial
gain. Root 2A, to give presents. The
7 in ΠΡ has the Mappic in a great
number of MSS.—The apparent pleon-

asm at the end of ver. 17 is designed
to express the great extent to which
the trade of Tyre should again be
carried on; which took place especially
under the Seleucide and the Romans.
She had indeed so far recovered her
ancient power in the time of Alex-
ander the Great, that, though at last
taken by that conqueror, she held out
a siege of seven months. The number
of her inhabitants must then have
amounted to at least thirty thousand.

18. A prediction of the conversion
of the Tyrians to the worship and
service of the true God. Instead of
hoarding up their gains, or devoting
them as presents to the temple of
Hercules, as they had formerly done,
they would now consecrate them to
the support of true religion. Comp.
Ps. Ixxxvii. 4; Isa. lx. 9. Whether
they became proselytes to the Jewish
faith, we are not informed; though,
considering the number of Jews who
resided in foreign cities after the
return from the captivity, it is not at
all unlikely that many were led to
profess it through their instrumen-
tality; in which case, they would
naturally send gifts to Jerusalem.
That they embraced Christianity at an
early period, and that it afterwards
flourished here, are matters of history,
Euseb, Hist. lib. x. cap. 4; and it is
not improbable, that to this the pro-
phecy refers. Comp. Acts xxi. 3—6.
mm 269 Dw, “those who sit or dwell
before Jehovah,” is equivalent to 3Ὸν
jes, “the inhabitants of Zion,” when
used figuratively to denote the mem-
bers of the church of God, Ps. xxvii.
4, Ixxxiv. 4; only with special refer-
ence to the Divine presence. That
the priests are intended, is maintained
by Hitzig and Maurer, and in part by
Rosenmiiller; but it does not appear
that they were ever permitted to sit

CHRP: KOT.

ISAIAH.

213

For food in abundance, and for splendid attire.

in the presence of God. The phrase
denotes constancy and diligence in the
service of the Lord. About twelve
of Kennicott and De Rossi’s MSS.
read ΓΊΝΩ" 7172, but most likely from

an emendation. ny several of the
ancient translators have taken in the
sense of being o/d; Aquila has perdp-
σεως; but the Chald. WW, which is
glorious, gives the right meaning.

CHAPTER XXIV.

That chapters xxiv.—xxvii. form one connected whole, is the unanimous

opinion of the best commentators.

They describe the desolations brought

upon Palestine, as a punishment for the sins of its inhabitants; contain
predictions of the restoration of the Jews from captivity, and of the gospel
dispensation; hymns of grateful praise for their deliverance; and announce

the utter destruction of their enemies.

Vitringa, Michaelis, and others,

regard this section as the most obscure and difficult in the whole book. It
may therefore naturally be supposed that considerable diversity of opinion

has obtained with respect to its interpretation.
applied it to judgments to be brought upon the earth generally.

Most of the Reformers
Hitzig is

almost alone in the opinion that it refers to the Assyrian empire, and the

destruction of Nineveh, its capital.

By Grotius, it is applied to the deso-

lations effected by Shalmaneser; by Hensler, to those which took place
under Sennacherib; by Dathe, Gesenius, Rosenmiiller, and Jahn, to the
devastations of Nebuchadnezzar, and the fall of Babylon; by Vitringa, to

the times of the Maccabees.

Lowth and some other late writers think the

prophecy embraces all the desolations of Palestine,—the last, or Roman, not
excepted. This hypothesis, though supplying an easy mode of interpreting
all its parts, is to be rejected ; having obviously been framed for the purpose
of getting rid of the difficulties. If we consider it in the light of a prophetic
review of the judgments brought upon the land, more especially those
brought upon it by the Chaldeans, down to the time of the Messiah, we
shall, I think, come nearest the mark. That it has any reference to times

yet future, I cannot find.

That Isaiah was the writer of this portion of the book, there is no just reason
to doubt. The objections taken by Eichhorn, Gesenius, Hitzig, and Maurer,
are for the most part extremely frivolous. That chap. xxiv. abounds more
in paronomasias, and other points of artificial style, than the rest of the
book, cannot be denied; but these the Hebrews accounted elegancies, rather
than blemishes, and they are not without their parallels, both in Isaiah and
his contemporary Micah. See chap. v. 7, vii. 9, xxii. 17, 18. Equally
futile are the alleged doctrinal difficulties, especially that of the resurrection

of the dead.

See on chap. xxiv. 21, xxvi. 19. While Gesenius denies that

DD

214 ISATAH. [CHAP, XXIV.

this section is from the pen of Isaiah, but contends that he is the author
of chap. xxiii, Hitzig strenuously maintains an identity of authorship ;
though he refers the composition of both to the times, if not to the pen of
Nahum.

In this chapter the prophet depicts in the strongest colours the distress that
should prevail in the land, to heighten which he accumulates particulars,
1—12; the grateful feelings of the few inhabitants that should make their
escape to the regions on the Mediterranean, 13—16; the complete subver-
sion of the Jewish polity by the army of Nebuchadnezzar, and the captive
state of the priests and royal family, 16—22; and concludes by announcing
the restoration of the Jews, and the glorious re-establishment of the

theocracy, 23.

1 Brnoxp, Jehovah poureth out the land and emptieth it ;
He also turneth down the face of it, and scattereth its

inhabitants.

2 And it is, as with the people, so with the priest ;
As with the servant, so with his master ;
As with the maid, so with her mistress ;
As with the buyer, so with the seller ;
As with the lender, so with the borrower ;
As with the receiver, so with the giver on usury.

3 The land is utterly emptied and utterly plundered ;
For Jehovah hath spoken this word.

1. The four verbs here employed
are all strongly expressive of violence.
P23, to empty, pour out violently, Arab.

5.» multum pluvie fudit ccclam. 4843

tmpetus, illapsusque vehementior. ci

nultiloguus, garrulus vir.—p?2 signifies
to open, empty as a bottle, and is nearly
synonymous with the former word.

Arab. ce, aperuit omnino vel vehemen-
ter ; abriputt. ah, desertum, solitudo.

LXX. épnpdca.—my, to turn xpside
down, overthrow. The entire reference
seems to be to a vessel, the contents
of which are poured out, and which,
in order to its being wholly emptied,
is turned completely over. Comp.
Jer. xlviii. 11, 12.

2, This accumulation of antitheses
is quite in keeping with the impas-
sioned character of the style through-

out the chapter. They strikingly
mark the indiscriminate ruin in which
the inhabitants of Judah should be
involved. No distinction would be
made between the different ranks or
conditions of life. That no historical
inference is to be drawn from the
priest, and not the king being men-
tioned, is evident from Hos. iv. 9,
where the same antithesis occurs, in
application to the state of things in
Israel.—Instead of 3, which appears
before all the other predicates, δ
takes x3, because, with 2 following,
it exhibits its verbal, rather than its
substantive character. Many of the
best codices, and several of the earlier
editions, read 7) instead of πῶ, Both
letters are elsewhere in use.

3. Pia and 37 are emphatic Infini-
tives, from p72 and 3; the resump-
tion of the former of which, from ver.
1, connects these two verses closely
together. The formula with which

CHAP. XXIV. |

ISATAH.

215

4 The land mourneth, it withereth ;
The world languisheth, it withereth ;
The highest of the people of the land languish.
5 Yea, the land [itself] is profaned under its inhabitants ;
For they have transgressed the laws; they have changed the

statutes ;

They have broken the everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore a curse devoureth the land,
And its inhabitants are punished ;
Therefore the inhabitants of the land are burnt up;

the verse concludes is usual with the
prophets, and expresses the certainty
of the events predicted.

4, yoxt and °2n are synonymes, and

both are here employed to designate.

the land of Judah. Comp. chap. xiil.
11, where 529 is used of the Baby-
lonian world; ἡ οἰκουμένη, Orbis Ro-
manus, Acts xvii. 6, xxiv. 5; and Luke
ii.1; Acts xi. 28, (see Bloomfield,)
where it is used of Palestine. Comp.
also chap. xxvi.18. The paronomasias
in the first four verses are merely a
prelude to the more striking ones,
vers. 17—20. Both 5328 and %2) are
properly used of the drooping or fall-
ing of plants, leaves, &c. ; here figu-
ratively of the languishing condition
of the Jewish state. INT Dy DV, Lit.
the height of the people of the land ; 01,
the abstract for the concrete 9), ez-
celsi, the most exalted in power and
dignity; LXX. of ὑψηλοὶ τῆς γῆς.
Nebuchadnezzar carried into captivity
two thousand of the nobles and men
of wealth. These are specially singled
out, on account of their more aggra-
vated guilt.

5. Ys is here to be taken of ἐλ land
literally and, in such connexion, with
the article—the very land, the land
itself. Because the prophet speaks of
min, Jaws, and not 77, the law, Aben-
ezra, Vitringa, Rosenmiiller, Hitzig,
and some others, are of opinion that
the reference is not to the Mosaic
institute, but to what are called the
laws of nature. The latter commen-
tators imagine that the Noachic pre-
cepts, covenant, &c. are meant. But
for the use of the plural, in application
to the law of Moses, see Levit. xxvi.

46; Neh. ix. 13; Ezek. xliv. 24. in,
the singular, is found in one of De
Rossi’s MSS., the Soncin. edit. of the
Prophets, 1486, and is supported by
the LXX., Chald., Syr., and Arab. ;
but the plural, being the more diffi-
cult, is in all probability the true
reading. ΓΤ is here a collective, sta-
tutes; UXX. τὰ προστάγματα. ™3
div, the Sinaic covenant, which is fre-
quently thus designated, because of
the long period during which its obli-
gations were to be binding. Exod.
xxxi. 16; Lev. xxiv. 8.

6. mos, Arab. δ}, juramentum, pri-
TT) J 2 Ρ

marily denotes az oath, and then the
penalty incurred by the breach of it ; the
mulet, damage, or suffering, to which
the offending party is subject. See
Deut. xxix. 13 (14)—19, where it
occurs in connexion with m3, It is
here specifically the curse, or ban
annexed to the violation of the Sinaic
covenant. See Deut. xxix. 18, 19;
comp. Zech. v. 3. The judgments
which God would bring upon the
country were an infliction of the
threatened punishment.—odwtx denotes,
in such connexion, to suffer the con-
sequences of guilt, fo be punished ;

Arab. ra , criminis reus. Comp. Zech.

xi. 5.—For 19, which is from 9, fo
burn, be burnt up, consumed, Houbigant
proposes to read 24, which Lowth
adopts, and renders, “are destroyed ;”
but totally without authority—there
being no various reading. Besides,
the verb found in the text better
accords with 52s in the corresponding
parallelism.—* Few men.” On the

216 ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XXIV.

And few are the men that are left.

7 The new wine mourneth,
The vine languisheth ;
All the merry-hearted sigh.
8 The joy of tabrets ceaseth ;

The noise of those who exult is ended ;

The joy of the harp ceaseth.

9 They drink not wine with the song ;

The strong liquor is become bitter to those who drank it.
10 ‘The city of desolation is broken in pieces ;

Every house is shut up; there is no entrance.
11 A ery for wine is in the streets ;

All gladness is set ;

The joy of the land is gone.
12 Desolation is left in the city,

And the gate is battered into
13. Yet it shall be in the earth,

In the midst of the people,

capture of Jerusalem, none were left
behind but the lower class of citizens
and the country people; but even
they were afterwards carried into cap-
tivity by Nebuzaradan, so that the
land remained for the most part unin-
habited. But see ver. 13.

7. DIVA, must, new wine, corresponds
to 82, the vine, following, and must
therefore be understood of the juice
while yet in the grape. Comp. chap.

DB *
Ixv. 8; Syr. [sams frumentum. The

same figures are employed by Joel, i.
10—12, where they are carried more
fully out. That Isaiah imitated Joel
is asserted, but not attempted to be
proved, by Gesenius.

8. Three of De Rossi’s Codices, the
LXX., and Arab., read να, instead of
yw. The latter, however, besides
being the better supported, is the
more appropriate reading of the two.

10. ὙΠ MD, the city of desolation, 1.6.
destined to lie desolate and waste,
during the captivity. Such would be
the quantity of rubbish collected be-
fore the houses that were left, that
they would be quite inaccessible. 2D
is used not only of men, but of things ;
as the wilderness, Exod. xiv. 3. For

ruins.

the meaning of x12, see chap. xvii. I,
Ext. 1.

11. The cry for wine here mentioned
does not refer to the clamorous
demand of drunkards, but to the des-
titute condition of the wounded and
languishing inhabitants. 2, which
is used of the setting of the sun,
Arab. κ-Ὁ 255, abitt, procul abiit, recessit,

occidit sol, hence 2, evening, is here
with great effect employed metaphor-
ically to express the disappearance of
every species of joy. 22 properly
signifies to go into captivity. Both
terms describe the total change that
would take place in the circumstances
of the inhabitants. % is inserted
before IST, in xize of Kennicott and
De Rossi’s MSS.; and, according to
the LXX. and Arab., it ought to be
before wiv, It is most likely in
both cases a repetition from the first
part of the verse.

12. we) forms an antithesis to the
preceding. The gates of cities were
well fortified. When laid in ruins,
as here expressed, there was no more
defence. το may either have ? un-
derstood, or be the accusative.

13. Comp. chap. xvii. 6.

\

| DM, maritime countries ;

CHAP. XXIV. |

As when the olive is shaken ;

ISATAH.

217

Like the gleanings when the vintage is finished.
14 They shall lift up their voice, they) shall sing ;
Because of the majesty of Jehovah they shall shout aloud from

the sea.

15 Wherefore glorify Jehovah in the regions of fire,
In the isles of the sea, the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel.

14. Some, as Dathe, take the Ὁ in
mo to be comparative, and render,
“shout more than the sea ;” but as
the shout in this place is that of joy,
it is contrary to usage, as it is un-
natural, to compare it to the roaring
of the sea. It is rather the local Ὁ,
indicating the residence of the persons
spoken of ;'as in M190, DIP, in the east.
By &, the sea, is meant the Mediter-
ranean, or the West; Jew. Span. de
Occidente ; i.e. the islands of Greece,
and the countries in Asia Minor,
Europe, and Africa, which lay on the
coasts of that sea. To these quarters
some of the Jews doubtless made
their escape by means of Pheenician
vessels, and thus retained their per-
sonal liberty, while their brethren
were captives in Babylon.—In this
and the two following verses, the
prophet abruptly breaks off from his
description of the desolations to be
brought upon his country, in order
for a moment to introduce the joy of
the exiled Jews of the West at the
capture of Babylon by Cyrus, which
he anticipates. The Tym }ix3, Majesty
of Jehovah, which they celebrate, is
the glorious manifestation of his
power and goodness in destroying the
enemies and effecting the rescue of
the nation.

15. Various interpretations have
been given of O83, The conjectural
emendations may be seen in Lowth.
Of these, were any of them necessary,
that to be preferred is undoubtedly
but the cir-
cumstance that while no Heb. MS.
exhibits this reading, D%»~3, the full
orthography, as found in a great num-
ber of codices, as well as in the Bible
and the Prophets printed at the
Soncin. press, clearly evinces, that,
instead of the » having been com-

\ muted for », the latter has a right to

maintain its place in the word. Still,
however, this conjecture, which Lowth
first adopted, is approved by Michae-
lis, Hitzig, and some others. Ge-
senius, on the other hand, Scholz,
and others, render, ix the East, the
ORIENT, ὁ.6. the regions of light, or
the countries over which the morning
sun rises in brightness. They con-
sider D 8 and ὈΝΤ ἫΝ as contrasted,
and marking the different regions
both in the East and the West in
which the shouts of praise were to
be raised to Jehovah. That regions
are meant, the parallelism plainly
shews ; but there is something ex-
tremely harsh in the introduction of
the Orient into the passage: the
“sea,” and “the islands of the sea,”
i.e. the West, being mentioned both
before and after, requires that we
look in the same direction for the
countries intended by the prophet.
If we change the rendering of our
common version, “ ¢he fires, into the
regions of fire, We shall, in my opinion,
hit the mark. Such regions have,
from time iminemorial, existed in
Sicily, the south of Italy, and other
parts on the Mediterranean ; and the
Phenician traders, who must fre-
quently have witnessed volcanic erup-
tions of Etna, Vesuvius, ὅσο. could not
fail to spread throughout the East
information respecting these extra-
ordinary phenomena of nature. Comp.
Jer. li. 25, 26; Nah. i. 5, 6; where
the imagery is taken from the pheno-
mena of volcanoes ; a proof that they
were not unknown to the sacred pen-
men. I consider the prophet to be
addressing, throughout the verse,
those Jews who had taken refuge in
the West, the following ™7 »s being
only an amplification of the idea
suggested by ΘΝ. The marginal ren-
dering, “valleys,” which is that adopted

218

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XXIV.

16 From the end of the earth, we hear songs:

Glory to the Righteous One!

But I said, Misery to me! Misery to me! Alas for me!
The plunderers plunder; yea, the plunder the plunderers

plunder.

17 Terror, and the pit, and the snare,
Ave upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.

18 And it shall be,

That whoso fleeth from the sound of the terror shall fall into

the pit :

in the French, Dutch, German, and
other current modern versions, is
borrowed from the Rabbins, who
generally give it this signification,
but without any support from the
connexion,

16. The first clause of this verse is
a continuation of the preceding sub-
ject, and contains a prediction of
the joy with which the Jews that
were dispersed in distant parts would
hail the appearance of Cyrus ; here,
as in chap. xli. 2, called the Righteous.
See on that passage. But no sooner
has the prophet pointed to the de-
liverer, than he is struck with horror
at the prospect of the evils which
should previously overtake his coun-
trymen. He sees the repeated and
unmitigated ravages of the Chaldeans,
and gives expression to his feelings in
language the most impassioned and
affecting. In such ἃ "βία of mind
abrupt sentences and repetitions are
extremely natural ; and even parono-
masias are not out of place, if the
terms employed be appropriate to
the subject. Accordingly, we have
here ὁ ‘¥1. repeated ; as is the verb 733,
with the substantive 123, not fewer
than five times within the compass
of a single verse. In vers. 17 and 18,
m1 71 179, with their separate repeti-
tion, furnish an elegant instance of
paronomasia, while the reduplicate
and intensive forms of the verbs YY,
“1B, wi, Di, vers. 19, 20, and the repe-
tition of D9, and 27x, ver. 21, give
peculiar force and pathos to the pas-
sage. Altogether, it is the most length-
ened specimen of varied artificial com-
position found in the Hebrew Scrip-

tures, or, perhaps, in any other writ-
ings. For a similar though brief in-
stance of highly artificial language,
composed under circumstances of
severe affliction, see Job xvi. 12.

DT bs
Ὁ ΞΒΞΘῊ PIA Ty

As a parallel to ΝῊ Δ, comp.
the Orestes of Eurip. :

Αἴλινον Athwov ἄρχαν θανάτου,
᾿ Βάρβαροι λεγοῦσιν Αἴ, Αἴ, κιτιλ.

ἜΝ a subst. after the form 29, 2, from

the root 77, Arab. Ι; : sis’ deminuit

rem ; & i> afflictio, erumna, calamitas.

The Syr., Targ., Aq., Theod., Symm.,
Vulg., render, my secret; and some,
adopting this rendering, would inter-
pret the words, “my secret is to my-
self ;” 2.6. a secret is revealed to me,
but I am not at liberty to divulge it ;
but the ὁ Ὁ which follows requires
us to take the word in the sense of
misery, affliction, or such like. Gesenius,
Ich vergehe, ich vergehe: Uitzig and
Scholz, Lend mir! elend mir! The
prophet gives vent to the deeply pain-
ful feelings which affected his mind.
For the signification of 723, see chap.
xxi. 2, where, as here, the prophet
combines the verb and the participle.

17,18. The language of these verses
is adopted with little variation by
Jeremiah, chap. xlviil. 43, 44, in his
prophecy against Moab. It graphically
describes the accumulation of dangers
to which the inhabitants of Judah

CHAP. ΧΧΙΥ.]

ISAIAH.

219

And whoso cometh up from the midst of the pit, shall be taken

in the snare ;

For the windows of heaven are opened,
And the foundations of the earth do shake.

19 The land is violently broken;
The land is greatly shattered ;
The land totters exceedingly.

20

The land reeleth like one who is drunk,

And moveth to and fro like a hammock :
For her rebellion lieth heavy upon her;
She shall also fall, and shall rise no more.

should be exposed, and the impossi-
bility of successful escape. The images,
as Lowth observes, are taken from
hunting. The 15 was the formido, or
scare-crow, which partly by its appear-
ance, and partly by its noise, (,)
frightened the animals into the covered
pit-falls that had been dug for them ;
or, failing this, into a large space of
ground enclosed with zefs, which being
drawn narrower and narrower, at last
caught them, There is no necessity,
with Gesen., to refer 7? to the hunter ;
or, with Lowth, to regard 779 as a
mere Hebraism, which cannot be sus-
tained. The various reading, ΞΕ, is
obviously a correction from Jeremiah.
The language is otherwise proverbial,
like the Latin : incidit in Scyllam, qui
vult vitare Charybdim.— pr? is freq.
only equivalent to }2; which one
MS. has, most probably from Jeremiah,
and is the rendering of the LXX., Syr.,
and Vulg.—The Ὁ in 01199 is a peri-
phrasis for the Genitive. The word
is otherwise used instead of DY2u07,
Gen. vii. 11, which passage the pro-
phet had in his eye—comparing the
desolation to be brought upon his
people to that effected by the deluge.
Some few codices have O77, doubt-
less from emendation; LXX. ἐκ τοῦ
οὐρανοῦ ; Targ. 8202; both giving the
meaning, though not the form of the
term. I have taken the same liberty
here and at ver. 21—our word heaven
corresponding etymologically both to
Din and ow.

19, 20. See on ver. 16. The conjec-
ture of Secker, that the 7 in ὙΠ has

been prefixed by some copyist repeat-
ing this letter from the end of the
preceding word, is extremely probable.
The triple repetition of YX, so far
from destroying the effect of the pas-
sage, aS Gesenius insinuates, greatly
increases its force; and as to the anti-
climax referred to by Hitzig, it exists
only in his own imagination; for
whatever may be the comparative de-
grees in meaning which attach to the
verbs, taken by themselves, there is
unquestionably a rise in the sense as
we approach the end of the passage.
First, there is Tying my, a violent
crashing or breaking of such objects
as are on the surface of the earth.
Secondly, 7Mian7 Hs, a still more im-
petuous destruction of them. Then
we have ΠΡΌΣ win, yon yin, and
mr; all of which describe the
motion of the earth itself, tottering to
utter ruin. And, to crown the whole,
she at last falls under the pressure of
accumulated guilt, to rise no more.
Nothing can surpass in beauty the
comparison of the globe, in such cir-
cumstances, to 7299, a covered bed, or
hammock, suspended between the bran-
ches of a tree, liable to be tossed
hither and thither in a storm, to the
no small peril of its inhabitant. Such
hammocks are common in the East,
for the accommodation of those who
watch fields or vineyards; as afford-
ing shelter from the wild beasts.
Comp. chap. i. 8. The term corre-

sponds to the Arab. J; 2, locus, quem in

summa arbore sibi struit campi custos pre

220
21 And it shall be in that day,

ISAIAH.

(CHAP. XXIV.

That Jehovah shall punish the host of heaven on high,
And the kings of the land upon the land.
22 Yea, they shall be gathered in company,
Like prisoners consigned to the pit ;
And shall be shut up in the prison ;
But after many days shall they be visited.
23 The moon shall be confounded and the sun ashamed,

metu leonis. Kam. Dj. which word the
Targ.and Syr.and Saadias have adopted.
See Buxtorf, Lex. Chald. p. 1670.

21, 22. Misled by the force of the
imagery employed in the preceding
verses, and by a false construction of
certain terms in these, Jerome refers
the whole to the end of the world, the
final judgment, and the punishment
of the rebel angels; but he is rather
puzzled how to meet the argument of
the Origenists, derived, on this view
of the passage, from the end of ver.
22. Gesenius, however, adopts the
same view, which he lamely endeavours
to support from passages 1n the Zenda-
vesta, the Book of Enoch, and 2 Pet.
ii. 4; Jude 6; Matt. xxv.; Rev. xx.
Michaelis broaches some curious no-
tions respecting demons, tutelary
angels, and stars, which are partly
retailed by Rosenmiiller and Hitzig.
The πρῶτον Ψεῦδος of all such inter-
pretation lies in taking the words x2¥
Di97 in a literal sense, whereas it is
manifest from the connexion, they are
to be understood figuratively. The
phrase is clearly identical in meaning
with DYwT Nix, Dan. viii. 10, the
Levites, or ecclesiastical state, being in-
tended. The.service which they per-
formed in the tabernacle is expressly
called siz, Numb. iv. 23, 35, 39, 43,
which Gesenius not improperly ren-
ders militia sacra; and the verb is
likewise used to express the perform-
ance of such service, Numb. iv. 23.
What Isaiah, therefore, here predicts,
is the subversion for a season of the
entire Jewish polity, or the removal
to Babylon both of those who mini-
stered in the temple, and of the royal
state. MINT 1270, the kings of the land,
are not foreign rulers, such as the
kings of Assyria, Babylon, &c., but

the Jewish kings, as Zedekiah, Jehoi-
achim, &c. See Jer. 111. See Lowth’s
note, especially the extract from Sir
Isaac Newton. Before VOX, which
is a collective noun, supply 3, as freq.
In the former of the two cases in
which %Y is used, it expresses motion
towards a place; in the latter, the
being cz the place specified. 2a and
"309 are parallel. The former is de-
scriptive of the most ancient kinds of
prisons, which consisted of empty
cisterns that narrowed towards the
mouth, so that it was scarcely possible
for those who were confined in them
to make their escape without assist-
ance. Gen. xxxvii. 20, 22; Jer. xxxviii.
13. Not unfrequently the bottom was
covered with mire or soft clay, which
rendered them at once unhealthy and
disagreeable. Jer. xxxvii. 6. For the
fulfilment, see 2 Kings xxv.; 2 Chron.
xxxvi.; Jer. 111.-- 5, Lowth, Rosen-
miiller, Gesenius, Maurer, and Scholz,
take in the sense of punishing; but a
merciful visitation, for the purpose of
restoring those here spoken of from
captivity, alone suits the connexion.
Comp. chap. xxiii. 17. Thus the Syr.,
Rabbi Joseph, Kamchi, Jackson, Booth-
royd. Hitzig defends this construction
of the verb, though he differs as to the
subject of the prophecy ; and Calvin is
inclined to take the same view of it.—
The phrase 0") 44, many days, does not
necessarily imply a very long period
of time, but may with all propriety
be applied to the seventy years of the
captivity. See Jer. xxxii. 14, where
it is used in reference to this very
period.

23. What the prophet here adds
confirms the view just given of the
preceding clause. But the scene pre-
sented to his vision is too glorious in

CHAP. XXV.|

ISAIAH.

221

When Jehovah of Hosts shall reign
On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,

Gloriously before his elders.

its character to admit of application
to the state of the Jewish polity after
the restoration. Not even the brilliant
successes of the Maccabees, nor the
state of affairs under the Asmonzan
dynasty, at all come up to it. We
must, therefore, regard it as another
of those abrupt, though not uncon-
nected, anticipations of the kingdom
of Christ, which abound in this book.
It describes times when neither kings

nor priests should officially constitute _

part of the church of God: the only
officers to be then recognised as bear-
ing rule in that sacred community
being D373, LXX., πρεσβύτεροι, preshyters

or elders. See Acts xiv. 23; Tit. i. 5.
That the sun and moon are not to be
understood in this passage as specific
symbols, but are merely introduced to
set off by contrast the glorious splen-
dour of Messiah’s reign, is admitted
by the best interpreters. Comp. chap.
lx. 1, 19, 20. For the meaning of
Zion and Jerusalem, in this connexion,
see Heb. xii. 22. 123, glory, is to be
taken adverbially ; and connected with
122, the preceding verb ;- δὰ Regnum

hristi pertinere; quod sicut xox est
de hoc mundo, ita ejus gloria, splendor,
dignitas, et magnificentia, istaec omnia
pudefieri facit et disparere.”—Forerius.

CHAPTER XXV.

This chapter commences with a triumphal song of praise to God, for his
fidelity in accomplishing his promises in the destruction of the Babylonish
power, by which his people had been oppressed, 1—5. The prophet then
predicts the establishment of the new and universal economy, and the rich
blessings which should accrue from that event, 6—8. He next introduces
a beautiful chorus, in which expectant believers joyfully welcome the Divine
Founder of the better dispensation, 9; and, in his usual style, reverts to
judgments which should be inflicted on the Moabites,—the implacable ene-
mies of the Jews,—during the period between the return from the captivity

and the advent of Messiah, 10—12.

1 O JEHOVAH, thou art my God ;
I will exalt thee; I will praise thy name ;
For thou hast effected wondrous things,—

1. The language of this verse occurs,
in part, on similar occasions of deliver-
ance. See Exod. xv. 2,11; Ps. exviii.
28, cxlv. 1. ΝΒ, rem mirabilem, as
Kimchi gives it ; the wonderful inter-

position of Divine Providence in ‘be-
half of the Jews. nist) is frequently
used of such interpositions. The use
of p79, in a temporal sense, is_pecu-
liar to Isaiah; see chap. xxi. 11,

EE

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XXV.

The ancient counsels are faithfulness and truth.
2 For thou hast made the city a heap;

The fortified city a ruin ;

The palace of the barbarians to be no more a city:

I: shall never be rebuilt.

.

3 Therefore shall the powerful people glorify thee ;
The city of the formidable nations shall fear thee.
4 For thou hast been a fortress to the poor ;
A fortress to the needy in his distress ;
A refuge from the storm; a shade from the heat ;
When the blast of the formidable was like a storm against a

wall.

XXxvii. 26 ; and is equivalent to D2ir4,
from eternity, eternal, ἸῸΝ TON, Hitzig
considers to be governed by Mwy; but
it is better to regard them as abstract
nouns governed by the substantive
verb understood. The same noun is
sometimes repeated, in a different
form or gender, with a view to express
intensity, as TAD Moov, Ezek. vi. 14.
moo WH, Job xxx. 3. The ellipsis of
the copulative ) is an instance of the
constructio asyndeta, of which Gese-
nius gives several examples, Lehrg. p.
842. The Divine counsels were proved
by the event to be faithful and true.

2. VY, City, is not used of any
hostile city or cities in general, but
specifically of Babylon, or the Chaldean
power, by which the Jews had, been
so long held in bondage. There is no
occasion, with Houbigant, Lowth, and
others, to change YY2 into VYY7,—the
Ὁ denoting the material out of which
anything ismade. The ὁ in 535 appears
harsh in such close contact with 2;
but it could not be omitted after or.
The ancient versions may have read as
we now do. Comp. Gen. 11], 19; Ps.
xvi. 4. In the second instance, in
which YY9 occurs here, it is privative
in signification. For the change of
om into oO}, Houbigant had no autho-
rity; nor should we be warranted to
alter the text for the sake of two MSS.
in which the latter reading has since
been found. ink is here used by
synecdoche for YY; the palace being
the principal part of the city. Com-
pare, in illustration of the sense, chap.
xiii, 19—22,

3. By the “powerful people” are
meant the Medes, Persians, &c. They
are first spoken of in the singular,
ww DY, as being united under the rule
of Cyrus; and afterwards in the
plural, Oy 0%3, to mark their diver-
sity. The construction in Ὁ Mm}?
PRY DW W, is, ad sensum : the grammar
would require the verb to be in the
sing. fem. to agree with ™?. Such
would be the effect produced upon
the minds of these warriors by the
acknowledgment of the supremacy of
Jehovah by Cyrus, Darius, &c. and
the singular favour which they shewed
the Jews, that they would be led to
make the same acknowledgment, and
ascribe to God the glory due to his
name. See Ezrai. 2, 6; Dan. vi. 25—
27.

4, 3 connects what follows with
ver. 1, and not with ver. 3. [Ὁ intro-
duces an additional ground of praise
to Jehovah,—the gracious preservation
which he afforded to the Jews in Baby-
lon. The images employed in this
and the following verse possess great
force and beauty. ™™ here signifies
anger or wrath. See on chap. xxxii.
11. By Ὃν 0%, ὦ wall-storm, is meant
such a violent storm of wind and rain,
as, beating against a stone wall, uproots
and throws it prostrate on the ground,
Root, 04, to pour, overwhelm; Arab.

ti D.a. eu abrupit, C.a.; eu nomen

uvit, qui infertur flumini Tigridi. Kam.
q I.

Freytag. The genitive is that of

object; so that the 3, which Houbi-
gant would introduce, is quite un-

CHAP. XXYV.|

5 As heat in a dry land,

ISATAH,

Thou hast subdued the tumult of the barbarians ;
As heat by the shadow of a cloud,
The song of the formidable is suppressed.
6 In this mountain, Jehovah of Hosts shall prepare for all people,
A feast of fat things, a feast of wine on the lees ;

Of fat things full of marrow,

necessary. Lud. Capellus, Vitringa,
Lowth, Michaelis, and Dathe, render
Y?, winter, by changing it into Vp; or
by deriving it from Wp, fo be cold; but
contrary to the unvarying usage of
the language, in which 77 signifies a
wall.

5. The language is elliptical. After
32 23, supply 3y 53 from the third
member of the verse; and before 14
in that line, supply 2 from the first,
It would, however, be unwarrantable
to alter the Hebrew text from its
present elliptical forms. 72 is here
used intransitively. Comp. chap.
ΧΧΧΙ. 4.

6. Having finished his song of tri-
umph, Isaiah takes occasion, from the
view he had just given of the Divine
character, to call the attention of the
Jews to a still more glorious display of
that character, afforded by the rich
supply of spiritual blessings which
Jehovah would bestow in the days of
Messiah. ‘These blessings are first
represented under the image .of a
sumptuous banquet; an image not
unfrequently employed in Scripture to
denote the means of spiritual enjoy-
ment and nutrition. See Ps. xxii. 26
—29; chap. lv. 1—5; Matt. vi. 11,
xxii, 1—10; Luke xiii. 28, 29, xiv. 15
—24; in all which passages there is
the same distinct recognition of the
calling of the Gentiles which we find
in the present verse. The prophet
then specifies the removal of ignorance,
misery, and disgrace, as constituting
the essential character of the blessings
to be imparted. That the reference is
to the happiness to be enjoyed under
the reign of the Messiah, there can be
no doubt. Comp., in connexion with
the passages cited above, John vi. 53—
58; 1 Cor. xv. 54. To no other state
of things can the passage apply, than
to one in which the privileges and

of well-refined wine on the lees ;

blessings of the gospel are prepared
for men of all nations indiscrimi-
nately: and which, in its consumma-
tion, involves complete deliverance
from every evil. Nothing can be more
forced than the interpretation of some
of the Rabbins, whom Grotius follows,
according to which, the infliction of
vengeance upon the external enemies
of the church is meant.—i7 173, ie.
Mount Sion, mentioned at the close of
the preceding chapter, the new dis-
pensation “beginning at Jerusalem.”
D298 and OND form a paronomasia,
which is heightened in effect by their
repetition, and by the assimilation in
form of the participles by which they
are accompanied. “Fatness” is not
confined by the Hebrews to animals,
but is used of other subjects, the
superior excellence of which they
would express. Comp. however, τὰ
σιτιστα, Matt. xxii. 4. OD 9%, lit. pre-
servations, i.e. preservers, the lees, or
sediment of wine produced by the
bubbles of fixed air, which, during’
fermentation, rise to the surface, and
bring along with them the skins,
stones, or other grosser matters of the
grapes ; thus forming a scum or spongy
crust, which, after a time, breaks in
pieces and falls to the bottom. When
this has taken place, the wine becomes
clear; but as the fermentation does
not then cease, it increases in the
excellence of its qualities, by being
suffered still to continue for a time
on the lees. See Lowth’s note; and
comp. Jer, ΧΙ. 11. By metonymy
of the cause for the effect, the word
is here used to denote the excellent
wines thus prepared by lengthened
fermentation. To render them quite
fit for use, they are purified by being
filtered or drawn off from vessel to
vessel. This is expressed by O72;
the Pual Part. of px, fo fine, purify.

224

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XXV.

7 And He shall destroy in this mountain,
The face of the covering which covereth all people,
And the web that is woven over all nations.
8 He shall utterly destroy death ;
And the Lord Jehovah shall wipe away the tears from all faces,

Comp. the Arab. (Ὁ 552 Pl. KGS, Vinum,

Kamoos; from the skin in which it is
kept. Such wine Pollux, in his Ono-
mast., calls σακκίας οἶνος ὁ διῦλισμένος.
Thus Aq. in the present case: πότον
λιπασμάτων διῦλισμένον. OYMD, the

other Part. from πῶ, Arab. t=

ed

emedullavit os, to draw the fat out of
marrow-bones, is assimilated to the
former, instead of being written, D172,
which would be the regular form. Ὁ is
the substitute of 4, the third radical.
7. Rosenmiiller, Gesenius, Hitzig,
and Scholz, make the covering here
spoken of to be a sign of mourning ;
but since the removal of mourning is
specially predicted, ver. 8, it is better
to interpret it of ignorance, as κάλυμμα,
2 Cor. 111. 13, 14. With this igno-
rance, as with a veil, all nations were
covered at the time of our Lord’s
advent, chap. ix. 2, xxix, 18, xlii. 7.
Comp, Acts xvii. 30, xxvi. 18; Rom.
i, 21; Eph, iv. 18. That the Jews
themselves were likewise in a state of
spiritual darkness, see John i. 5, iii.
19, xii. 40. 0, cog, oxy, on2; Arab,

LS, bl, LY, exit, operuit, velavit, oc-

cultavit rem ; signifies to hide, muffle
up, to throw a mantle or veil over one’s
face ; hence 033, secretly ; 002, secret,
hidden arts. The word occurs here
first as a noun, and then as a parti-
ciple ; only the proper participial form
0} is changed into D1, to make it agree
in sound with the noun. Critics have
needlessly stumbled at wibt 5, “ the
face of the covering.” Lowth and
Boothroyd, after Houbigant, conjec-
ture that 2» has been transposed, and
that it stood originally before Oy» 53.
In support of this conjecture, the
MS. Bodl. is adduced ; but its reading
is itself, in all probability, a mere
conjectural emendation. At all events,
the text, as read by all the ancient

translators, was as we now have it ;
and however harsh it may seem, to
speak of destroying the face of a
covering, we meet with a similar
phrase, Job x1.13 (Hebr. xi. 5): 28 752 "2
yw), “Who can uncover the face of
his garment?” It is in fact merely a
periphrasis for the thing itself, see
chap. iii. 15; Ps. xlii. 11 (Hebr. 12). 22,
the other verb here employed, usually
signifies to pour out as a libation ; to
Suse, cast as metal; but in this place
the idea seems to be that which

attaches to the Arab. μανοῦ» fecuit,

plecuit quid, to twine, weave, &c., hence
ΠΡΌ, thread, or warp, and the deriva-
tive in the text, 7220, weaving: so that
the words are literally, “ the weaving
woven over all the nations.”

The prophecy has already, to a
great extent, been fulfilled. The gos-
pel, in which are unfolded the charac-
ter of the true God, and the principles
of his moral government, was the
means, at an early period ofits history,
of rescuing myriads of Jews from the
darkness of their terrestrial notions
respecting the Messiah and his king-
dom, and of banishing idolatry and
superstition from the Roman empire.
It has, in the present day, proved
victorious in different parts of the
heathen world; it is in a state of
rapid propagation ; and when this and
other similar predictions shall have
received their full accomplishment,
the earth shall be full of the know-
ledge of the Lord, as the waters cover
the sea.

8. A more glaring instance of
mistaken historical interpretation is
scarcely to be found than that given
of the first words of this verse by
Grotius: donee vivit Bsechias! Vitrin-
ga, true to his principles of interpre-
tation, explains them first of the
times of Simon and John Hyrcanus,
and then of certain periods of the

CHAP. XXV.]

ISAIAH.

225

And shall remove the reproach of his people from the whole

earth:
For Jehovah hath spoken it.

9 And in that day it shall be said: Lo! this is our God;
We have waited for him, and he hath saved us:
This is Jehovah; we have waited for him;
We will rejoice and be glad in his salvation.
10 Assuredly the hand of Jehovah shall rest on this mountain ;

Christian dispensation. Rosenmiiller
and Gesenius apply them to what
they designate the renewal of the
golden age ; and the latter has a long
note on the passage, in which he
endeavours to support his view by
referring to the Zendavesta. But all
such exegesis fails to meet the ezi-
gentia loci. What Isaiah predicts is not
the partial or total cessation of war,
extraordinary longevity, or such like,
but the absolute abolition of death.
In proof of this fact, the apostle
expressly quotes it, 1 Cor. xv. 54:
τότε γενήσεται ὁ λόγος ὁ γεγραμμένος"
Κατεπόθη 6 θάνατος εἰς νῖκος :—
thus concluding his celebrated argu-
ment in defence of the doctrine of
the resurrection. By his inspired
authority I deem it the only wise,
because the only safe course, in this
and all similar cases, to abide. The
words, as alleged by Paul, are found
in the version of Theod., with which
the Targ. and Syr. agree, in reading
the verb as a passive. 533, in Piel, as
here, commonly signifies ¢o destroy,
destroy utterly: in Kal, the more usual
signification is that of swallowing,
which most of the versions have un-
happily adopted. zx, the Greek
translators render by ἰσχύσας, εἰς
τέλος, εἰς νῖκος ; attaching to the term
the idea of what is overpowering, durable,
complete. The significations of the
Heb. root Mz, used only in Niphal
and Piel, are to shine, lead, lead on, be
complete; in Chald. to surpass, excel,
vanquish ; hence the idea of victory,
eternity, &c., attaching to my}, and of
completely, entirely, for ever, &c., to M22,
mz. The words are therefore equi-
valent to ὁ θάνατος οὐκ ἔσται ἔτι, Rev.
xxi. 4; where there seems to be an
evident allusion to our text; and

where the subject is, as here, not the
millennial state of the church, but the
state of glory, after the resurrection
of the body. It will be then only
that a period shall be put to the
reproachful persecutions of the righte-
ous, which Isaiah likewise predicts.
’ has here the force of: It ghall
assuredly be, for Jehovah hath spoken
it.

The prophecy embraces the whole
of the N.T. dispensation, from its
establishment till its termination at
the last day.

9. A joyful acclamation of welcome
to the Divine Redeemer, by whom the
predicted blessings would be secured
and bestowed. It requires no com-
ment. ὍΝ is used impersonally : oxe
shall say, i.e. each, and is best ren-
dered in the plural. Thus the LXX.
and Vulg.; but the Ger. man, and the
French oz, according to a similar
idiom.

10. A new subject is here taken up,
—the destruction of Moab. That of
Babylon had been predicted at the
commencement of the chapter; and
it was requisite that the neighbouring
enemy, from which the Jews had
suffered so much annoyance, and
which still evinced an indomitable
hostility, should be exhibited in like
circumstances of prostration. Comp.
chapters xv. and xvi. For the use of
3, as an absolute affirmative at the
beginning of a prophetic announce-
ment, see chap. xv. 1. The phrase 7
a Tv, indicates elsewhere hostility,
the exercise of punishment on the
part of God; but here, in connexion
with ™3, it is used in a good or favour-
able sense. The Divine power should
continue for protection in Zion. No
codex reads 2A, shall give rest—Ynna

220

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XXV:

But Moab shall be trodden down in his own place,
As straw is trodden in the water of a dunghill.

11

He shall even spread forth his hands in the midst of it,

As the swimmer spreadeth forth his hands to swim ;
And He shall bring down his pride,
Together with the plots of his hands.

12
He will bring down, lay low,

Yea, the towering fortifications of thy walls

And level with the ground, even with the dust.

refers to Moab and not to Jehovah,
and means, iz his own land. Comp.
Exod. xvi. 29; 2 Sam. vii. 10. Gese-
nius, with many other interpreters,
thinks Moab is here used as one of a
class, and that the enemies of the
Jews generally are meant; but there
is no sufficient reason why we should
depart from the literal meaning of the
term. It must have given the people
of God in Babylon great comfort to
know, that the enemy who still resided
in the vicinity of Judea should not be
permitted to molest them on their
return. For a, see chap. xxi. 10, and
comp. 2 Kings xiii. 7. The Ὁ in 617 is
irregularly pointed for 1; but there
are a few instances besides of the same
irregularity in the Niph. Infin. of
verbs “v. The LXX., Vulg., and Syr.,
render 72279, chariots, as if they had
found 72379 in the text; but it exists
in no MS., and the Targ. has 7, the
mire. Besides, 722%) is never used of
threshing cars; 2, 722», &c. being
employed to express such instru-
ments: and there is a manifest paro-
nomasia in }292 and 729792, which
proves it to be the genuine reading.
maT signifies duaghill. Comp. 72,

dung, manure, and the Arab. we?

stercoravit terram; rae Jimetum. To
interpret the word of a town of this
name makes no sense. According to
the Chethib "23, we must render: “zz
the water of the dunghill.’ The refer-
ence is to the process taken with
straw in the cess or pool, to reduce it
the sooner to a state of rottenness,
and so fit it for manure. 103, the
Keri, though found in the text in
upwards of thirty MSS., and confirmed
’y the ancient versions, is, after all,

the less probable. Symim. appears to
have read 13,

11. The nomin. to 2 is "δ, Moa,
not Jehovah, as some have thought.
The action described is that of a person
making every effort to prevent himself
from sinking in the water. It repre-
sents the helpless condition of the
Moabites under the Divine chastise-
ments. Before 7207, subaud. Tim,
The mention made of the pride of
Moab is quite in keeping with the
emphatic representation, chap. xvi. 6.
yp mins, his crafty undertakings, from
nx, fo weave, weave plots, lie in wait.

Comp. the Arab. «ἡ, suscepit agen-

dum, versatus, peritus fuit in re. ς- - Ὁ Ι;
astutia, calliditas, ἕο. Hitzig would
restrict the meaning to Moab’s twist-
ing or crossing his hands, in order to
escape being drowned; but the word
is to be taken metaphorically, as sig-
nifying the crafty machinations which
he would attempt to carry into effect
against the Jews.

12. The prophet closes with a brief
but pointed apostrophe, in which he
announces to Moab the total desolation
which should come upon that country.
That he reverts to Babylon, as Gesen.
supposes, cannot be admitted. It is
doubtless to the strongly-fortified Kir-
Moab that he refers, see chap. xv. 1,
xvi. 7, 11. Between the readings
yon and POV there is no difference
as to sense: before the former, DY, the
people, is understood ; before the latter,
yu, the land. There is a singular
beauty in the accuraulation of verbs
here employed at the close of the
verse, as well as in the addition of
rept after JIS.

CHAP. XXVI.] ISATAH. 227

CHAPTER XXVI.

Babylon having been destroyed, as predicted at the beginning of the preceding
chapter, the captive Jews anticipate in this, their deliverance and restora-
tion to their own land. Regarding Jerusalem as rebuilt and fortified, they
demand admittance, and exercise a firm trust in God, that it shall take
place, 1—4. To this they are the more excited, by reflecting on what he
had done to the metropolis of their Babylonish enemies, 5, 6. They next
protest their devotedness to God, 7—9 ; deplore the stubborn blindness of
the impenitent portion of the nation, and foreshew their doom, 9—11; but
exult in Jehovah, who had interposed on their behalf, delivering them from
the dominion of their oppressors, 12—14; and view, by faith, the increase
of the population, and the extension of the boundaries of the nation, 15.
They describe the forlorn condition in which they had been during the cap-
tivity, and the fruitlessness of all their attempts to regain their liberty, 16
—18. Under the figure of a literal resurrection of the dead, their political
resuscitation is then emphatically announced, 19 ; and the prophet, in con-
clusion, calls upon them piously to await the complete infliction of the
Divine wrath on their enemies, as it would issue in their own deliverance,
20, 21.

1 In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah:

We have a strong city ;

Salvation He will appoint for walls and ramparts.

Open ye the gates,

That the righteous nation may enter,

[The nation] that keepeth faith.

3 The mind that is firm, thou wilt keep in perfect peace,
Because it trusteth in thee.

bo

1, sm oY describes the period of
the return. Such of the Jews as had
reached the land of Judea, and sur-
veyed the strong position of Jerusa-
lem, encourage their distant brethren
to follow them, and assure them of
the Divine protection. Before nv,
subaud. 7m, which is omitted as freq.
by a poetic elegance.—n for ὅπ LXX.
περίτειχος, Vulg. antemurale,—the outer
and lower fortification, divided from
the main wall of a city by a trench.

2. The response of the returning
Jews, demanding admittance. In a
national point of view, they were now

righteous, having entirely abandoned
idolatry, and addicted themselves to
the worship of the true God. From
this time, the Jews have kept them-
selves from idols, whose service was
the principal cause of the captivity.
3. JD ὋΣ is very elliptical. In full,
it would be Ὁ} Pop Hy wx Dy, The
man whose mind is staid upon thee, &e. ;
i.e. by implication, firm, unshaken,
steady. Aq. πλάσμα ἐστηρίγμενον.
Comp. Ps. exi. 8, cxii. 8. The phrase
describes the recumbency of the
mind upon Jehovah, from the expe-
rience it has of his gracious support.

ppb nz mim, “For J ehovah is

228

4 Trust in Jehovah for ever ;
For truly Jehovah is J AH—
An everlasting Rock.

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XXVI.

5 For He hath brought down those that dwelt on high ;
The lofty city He hath laid very low ;
He hath laid it low, even to the ground ;
He hath levelled it with the very dust.

6 The foot treadeth it ;

The feet of the afflicted, the steps of the poor.

sz. is properly what is formed in the
mind, but here it is used of the
mind itself, ni ni>w, the superlative
form : peace, pedce, i.e. the greatest, per-
fect peace. Com. chap. vii. 19. 7953,
though passive in form, is active in
signification, as is the case with the
Pah. part. of some other neuter verbs,
as PIB, M33, &e.

4, ma is not to be rendered, “in
Jah,’—the 3 being the Beth essentia,
which, according to a peculiar idiom,
points out the reality, certainty, sub-
stantive character or nature of the
subject to which it is prefixed. “ Pre-
positio 2 sepissime infert intimam ret,
vel persone, qualitatem : sive expressum
et eminentem characterem quo. aliquid
insignitum est, atque distinctum.”
Schultens in Prov. ii. 26. Ewald’s
Gram. § 521, p. 330, Eng. Trans.
Thus Exod. vi. 3, “I appeared unto
Abraham, &c., "τῷ "3, wader the cha-
racter of, evincing the properties of GoD
Aumicuty :” xxxii. 22, “Thou know-
est the people, 817 222 3, that they are
radically wicked.” Prov. iii. 26, mm
153 mm, “Jehovah shall be the sure
object of thy confidence.” Ps. Ixvil. 4
(Hebr. 5), 28 ™a, “His name is emphati-
poally Jau,” ἢ. e. he is ¢ruly what it im-
‘ports: the ErrrNAt, IMMUTABLE Gop.
And so in the present instance : "3°?
indeed
what his name JaH imports; He is
an everlasting Rock.” In each of these
examples, I have endeavoured to ex-
press in a paraphrase what I consider
to be the force of the Beth. It is an
idiomatic form, to which there is no-
thing precisely analogous, except per-
haps in some degree in Arab. as

poe "Ὁ 4}, God is indeed powerful,

—potentissimus. ἰδαφὼ aul la, God

will prove a swift witness. Other
examples in De Sacy’s Grammaire
Arabe, vol. i. p. 356, in which the Ba
is obviously mtensive—72, Rock, is
used as a Divine name. See Deut.
xxxii. 4, 15, 18, 30, 31; 1 Sam. 11. 2;
Ps. xviii. 32, 47. See also on Isa. lvii.
6. The eternity and immutable power
of God are here alleged as a ground
of the most unlimited confidence on
the part of his people.

5, 6. The prophet now applies to
Babylon the same language which he
had employed, chap. xxv. 12, in appli-
cation to Kir-Moab. That the former,
and not the latter, is here meant,
appears from the use of D7] and ἜΣ
following; these terms describing the
condition to which the Jews had been
reduced in Babylon. The punctists
have improperly placed the Athnach
under 72:0): it should stand under
mrpwy,—the suffix appended to which
shewing that the second member of
the verse ends there, while the other
form, 775t*, marks the commencement
of a new member. The reader will
notice the distinctive use of the Vuz
Epenthetic in the former case, as in
mys, mp2, which follow. While it
places it in apposition with ™y, it
places both the latter m apposition
with myst, which, as to construction,
occupies the same position with My.
It also expresses the ideas with greater
energy and intensity. The preterite
and future tenses being combined,
shews that the actions were continued,
which was signally the case in regard
to the destruction of Babylon. See
chap. xiii. pref.

CHAP. XXVI.|

ISAIAH.

7 The path of the just is perfectly straight ;
Thou, O Righteous! makest level the way of the just.
8 Even in the way of thy judgments, O Jehovah, have we waited

for thee;

To thy name, and to thy remembrance, has been the desire of

our soul.

9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night ;
And with my spirit within me I have sought thee early ;
For when thy judgments are in the earth,
The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

10

Should mercy be shewn to the wicked,

He will not learn righteousness ;
In the land of rectitude he will act perversely,
And not regard the majesty of Jehovah.
11 O Jehovah! thy hand is lifted up, but they will not see it;
They shall see it, and be ashamed ;

Zeal for [thy] people,

Yea, fire against thine enemies shall devour them.

7. ow, straightnesses, used adjec-
tively and intensively: very straight.
The language is metaphorical, and ex-
presses the provision made for the
escape of the righteous from the try-
ing circumstances in which they have
been placed: and with special refer-
ence to the Jews,—the present sub-
ject of discourse,—the straight and
even course prepared for them in the
providence of God, by which to return
to Palestine. 05, in application to a
way, signifies to make it level or plain.

8. While thy judgments are in a
course of infliction on the nations,
we expect thine interposition for our
deliverance. There is an ellipsis of 3
before Ms.

9. The prophet here introduces each
of his pious afflicted countrymen as
individually giving vent to strong feel-
ings of desire after the Divine favour.
Before ‘252 and ὙΠ supply 3. The
latter part of the verse indicates the
effect produced on men, by the execu-
tion of the judgments of God. Such
is universally their tendency; and
such, when sanctified, their result. As
the sentiment is general, J 8 and 527
cannot be limited to the Babylonian

empire. That JM is not, as in the
ancient versions, to be read in the
third person fem. to agree with ΕΣ,
but is merely a defective orthography
of mx, the parallel FW clearly
shews. The full form is found in a
great number of MSS. and Editions.
10, 11. Such is the perverseness of
depraved man, that, though experi-
encing pity from the Lord, and enjoy-
ing the means of religious improve-
ment, he is nevertheless blind to
divine things, and obstinately refuses
to avail himself of spiritual opportu-
nities. The prophet has immediately
in view the unbelieving portion of his
countrymen, whom he plainly tells,
that, though restored to their favoured
land, they would still prove incorri-
gible. The holy land is called i752 } x,
terra rectitudinum, because in the
observance of the Mosaic institutes,
the strictest justice would abound.
The Plur. is that of intensity. Comp.
ver. 7. The Nun Paragogic in PY is
corroborative: they will not αἵ all, or
The resumption,

FF

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XXVI.

12 O Jehovah! thou hast ordained peace for us ;
Yea, all our works also thou hast performed for us.

13
over us;

O Jehovah our God! other lords besides thee have had dominion

But thee,—thy name alone will we celebrate.

14

They are dead, they shall not live ;

They are deceased, they shall not rise:
Because thou hast visited and destroyed them,
And made all remembrance of them to perish.

15

Thou hast increased the nation, O Jehovah!

Thou hast increased the nation; thou art glorified ;
Thou hast widely extended all the boundaries of the land.

16

O Jehovah! in affliction they sought thee ;

They poured out a whisper, when under thy chastisement.

zeal of God in behalf of his people ;
by the latter, his wrath effecting the
destruction of his enemies. Comp.
for the construction, Ps. lxix. 9 (Hebr.
10) ; Obad. 10.

12. nod, like oni, md, 12, signifies,
in such connexion, fo procure, grant,
effect, or such like. From the expe-
rience which the church had had of
the Divine operations in her behalf,
on every former occasion of deliver-
ance, she confidently expects the res-
toration of her prosperity, as the
result of the same gracious agency.
D3 is here intensive.

13, 14. Jehovah was the only legiti-
mate sovereign of the Hebrew nation.
The Assyrians, Babylonians, &c., had
exercised an usurped dominion over
them; but they confidently anticipate
emancipation from captivity, and their
grateful celebration of the praise of
God in their own land. The 3 in 43
is the Beth of Instrument. The 14th
verse fully sets forth the result of the
Divine interposition in their favour :
—the complete destruction of their
enemies. 0° and Ow), though verbal
nouns, are used instead of verbs ; or
the pronoun 7277 may be supplied, as
in most versions. To view them as
nominatives absolute, and apply them
to the deceased Israelites, as Hitzig
does, the connexion forbids. The
LXX. render the latter word by
ἰατροὶ, physicians, having read DX5)

instead of OND). As the dead are de-
prived of all the power over the living,
which they might have possessed, and
can never resume it, so it was with
the Babylonians. This the Jews ex-
pected, and their expectations were
not frustrated. The Chaldean empire
was entirely destroyed. 22 has here
the force of a conjunction. The use
of ἸῺ after 723, instead of 073, is
poetic and intensive.

15. This verse describes the in-
crease of the population, and the
extension of the boundaries of the
land, in order that it might contain
them. The verbs are in the preterite,
to express the certainty of the event.

16. During the exile, the Jews re-
turned to the true service of God, and
earnestly supplicated deliverance from
the affliction by which they were op-
pressed. 72 is used in the unusual

sense of seeking after what has been

lost. Arab. X88, gucsivit rem perditam ;

desideravit, inquisivit. They had lost
the favour of God, which they were
now anxious to recover. PY is no-
where else employed metaphorically
to express giving utterance in prayer ;
but "seems purposely selected to ex-
press the intensity of the action.
This intensity is further indicated by
the addition of the Nun Paragogic,
which is of extremely rare occurrence
in the pretez'te. Comp. 1 Sam. i, 15 ;

CHAP. XXVI.]

ISAIAH.

231

17 As a pregnant woman, about to bear,
Is in pain, and crieth aloud in her pangs,
So have we been, away from thy presence, O Jehovah !

18

We have been pregnant ; we have been in pain ;

When we brought forth—it was wind:
We effected no deliverance for the land ;
Neither were the inhabitants of the world brought forth.

19
Their dead bodies shall rise :

Thy dead men shall live again ;

Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust !

Ps. cii. 1; the Aneid, vi. 55, fuditque
preces rex pectore abimo. “03, prayer ;
from 8m}, to whisper, speak with a soft
or dow voice; but here without any
regard to such strict etymological sig-
nification, except in so far perhaps as

it respects the exhaustion, produced.

by long-continued devotional exer-
cises.

17, 18. 7222, from thy presence, 1. e.
at a distance from Jerusalem, where,
in the temple, the Divine presence
was vouchsafed. As protection and
aid were connected with the presence
of Jehovah, so exclusion from it im-
plied exposure and helplessness. In
the beginning of ver. 18, Michaelis
imagined he discovered an allusion to
what physicians call an empueumatosis,
or physometra—tfalse symptoms of preg-
nancy, arising from an accumulation
of wind in the uterus, which termi-
nate in its emission. It is more pro-
bable, however, that the prophet had
in view the false pains which fre-
quently precede actual labour, and
disappoint the expectations which
they had excited. In this case ™ is
not to be taken literally, but meta-
phorically, as denoting vanity, nothing.
Thus Cicolampadius: /frwstra tulimus
dolores. The reference is to the futi-
lity of all the self-originating schemes
and hopes of the Jews in Babylon,
which had for their object their poli-
tical regeneration. τῶν), Cicolampa-
dius, Leo Juda, Cube, Gesenius, Rosen-
miller, and Maurer, take to be the
Niphal participle; but as this form
of the verb does not occur elsewhere,
it seems preferable, with Hitzig and
Scholz, to abide by the common con-

struction, according to which it is the
first person plural of Kal. This the
context also corroborates, and it is
the rendering of the LXX., Vulg.,,
Syr., and Arab. Cocceius, Déderlein,
Dathe, Gesenius, Hitzig, Maurer, and
Scholz, interpret 929 Δ᾽ Y= 53, the in-
habitants of the (Jewish) world are not
born. This construction best suits the
connexion, and is confirmed by a simi-
lar use of 53, ver. 19. It is true the
verb is not otherwise thus employed ;
and 23 is only used of abortions ; but

the use of the Arab. haw, fo full, for

to be born, together with that of the
Greek πίπτειν, the Latin cado, ἧτο. in
the same acceptation, are in favour of
this interpretation. See the literature
in Gesenius. In our own language fo
Jali is used with respect to the irra-
tional animals, in the sense of bearing
and being born. That °2n may signify
the Jewish world, see chap. xxiv. 4,
where, as in the present instance, it
is synonymous with JX, in the sense
of the land of Judea. 'TYhe meaning is,
the country is not yet inhabited ;
those who should possess it are as if
they were still unborn.

19. From the images employed by
the prophet, it is evident that the
doctrine of the resurrection of the
dead obtained among the Jews of his
time. He assumes the fact, and bor-
rows from it language admirably adap-
ted to express, in a strong and forcible
manner, what he had to teach relative
to the restoration of the Jews from
Babylon. Comp. Ezek. xxxviil. 1—14,
where, in like manner, the political
regeneration of the same people is

292

ISATAH.

(CHAP. XXVI.

For as the dew of herbs is thy dew,
And the earth shall bring forth the deceased.

predicted in figurative language taken
from that event. Treating of these
passages in Isaiah and Ezekiel, Pareau
adds, “Observandum est insuper,
eorum sermones ad usus publicos
fuisse destinatos ; ex quo consequitur
hance resurrectionis doctrinam ea etate
vulgo ita notum fuisse, ut facile per-
spicua et quodammodo popularis
imago inde possit desumi.” Comm.
de Immortal. p. 109. That the doc-
trine of the resurrection is really im-
plied in the passage, Gesenius declares
to be beyond doubt (unzweifelhaft) ;
but there is no foundation for his
position, that it was not known to
the Jews previous to the captivity ;
that they borrowed it, and many other
ideas, from the Zoroastrian theology ;
and consequently, that this portion of
the book could not have been written
at so early a period as the days of
Isaiah. It must be maintained, on
the evidence of such texts as Job xiv.
14,15; Ps. xvii. 15, xlix. 15, that the
Hebrews did anciently expect a resur-
rection ; and though the light which
they possessed on the subject was not
so clear as that which the nation
afterwards acquired, it was neverthe-
less sufficient to sustain the hopes of
the righteous, and excite in their
bosom an ardent longing after an
event of such thrilling interest. The
object of the pronominal suffix in
72, is not the prophet, as some sup-
pose, but Jehovah, who is repeatedly
addressed in the preceding part of the
chapter. The Jews were still his,
though it might be concluded from
the condition to which they were re-
duced, that all connexion between
him and them had ceased. The ? in
53) has greatly perplexed expositors.
A change of person is not unusual
in the prophets; but one so harsh
and appareitly inappropriate is unex-
ampled. For the prophet to introduce
himself, or the Messiah, as employing
the language, “ .Wy dead body,’’ seems
totally irrelevant to the subject. Nor
would the construction as to sense be
improved, if, with Kimchi, our Com-
mon Version, &e we were to supply

an ellipsis of Ὃν, with, together with. 1
therefore take the ?, not to be in this
case the pronominal suffix, but a poetic
augment absolute. This augment oc-
curs frequently in the status construc-
tus, as 107, Ps, ὍΣ. Δ: ΝΟΣ, Isa. 21 5
but there is an evident transition to-
wards the absolute state in those in-
stances in which the preposition 3 is
prefixed to the second noun, as ‘2%
mows, Ps. cxxili. 1 ; 753 ΤΩΣ, Exod. xv.
6; oan, Lam. i. 1. Comp. the
adverbs °n73, ‘Ny. None of the ancient
versions, except the Vulg., exhibits
any thing corresponding to the letter
as standing for the suffix of the first
person. On the contrary, the Chald.

» v Ψ
pA, and the Syr. (OTLap DSC Sup-

ply that of the third person, which I
cannot but think is the meaning, and
have rendered accordingly. The Ma-
soretes appear to have taken the same
view of the matter; for they have
pointed the word ‘222, and not °n)2:,
after the analogy of 1223, and Onn,
which we should have expected. The
same may be said of the LXX., though
they render freely, οἱ ἐν τοῖς μνημείοις.
That 752) is used here as a collective,
po, the plural of the following verb,
sufficiently shews. It is thus used
Ley. xi. 11, where our translators have
properly rendered it carcases, in the
plural—The suffix in 4328 either
refers to OY understood, or to each of
the bY 9228, taken distributively. Ge-
senius and others refer it to Jehovah,
but less properly. mis 52, ¢he dew of
plants. The Targ., Syr, Vulg., and
several of the moderns, render, “the
dew of light,” or “lights,” —understand-
ing thereby the morning dew, or the
brightness with which it glistens on the
face of the ground; but the rendering
I have adopted is that given by Kim-
chi, and approved by Rosenmiiller,
Winer, Hitzig, and Maurer. This sig-
nification of nix may justly be re-
garded as decided by an appeal to 2
Kings iv. 39—the only other instance
in which it is used in the feminine
plural. In the latter passage the
LXX. retain the word dpio8 ; but the

CHAP. XXVII.|

ISAIAH.

233

20 Come, my people! enter into thy chambers,
And shut thy doors behind thee ;
Hide thee, as it were for a little moment,
Till the indignation have passed over.

21

For behold! Jehovah cometh forth from his place,

To punish the iniquity of the inhabitants of the earth;
And the earth shall disclose her blood,

And no longer cover her slain.

other Greek versions have ἀγριολάχανα;
the Targ. 722, olera; Vulg. herbas

agrestes ; the Syr. and Arab. laso3 ἢ
' Vase malva. The prophet’s meaning

τ That as the dew, which in the
East falls very copiously on the herbs
of the field, and imparts to them fresh
life and vigour, so the Divine influence
or power should be exerted on the
Jews of the captivity, in consequence
of which they should come forth fresh
and vigorous, to serve Jehovah in
their own land. Comp. Ps. Ixxii. 6 ;
Hos. xiv. 5,6. Headds, ἘΠ O'SD) FINI,
and the earth shall bring forth ‘the de-
ceased; 1. 6. the inhabitants who had
disappeared, and were accounted as
dead, should again come into a state
of visible and active existence. It is
obvious from Job i. 21,and Ps. cxxxix.
15, that the ancient believers regarded
the earth as our common mother ; so
that the figurative language here em-
ployed by Isaiah must have been
easily understood. For the meaning
of 7517, see on the preceding verse.
20. Instead of NV, fen of Kenni-

cott’s and thirteen of De Rossi’s MSS.,.
three printed editions, read 72, as in
the Keri; but, independently of the
form, the noun has here a plural sig-
nification. This and the following
verse form an epilogue, in which the
Jews in Babylon are exhorted to wait
in silent retirement for the termina-
tion of the judgments which God was
about to bring upon that empire by
the army of Cyrus. With the close
of these judgments was immediately
connected the deliverance of the Jews
To express the magnitude and cer-
tainty of the catastrophe, Jehovah is
represented as coming forth from
heaven, when the blood and dead
bodies of the slain which had long
remained unavenged, and had been
hid from human view, are exhibited
in evidence of the cruelties that had
been committed, especially such as
had been wantonly exercised on the
people of God, in order that vengeance
might be taken on those who had per-
petrated them. In illustration of th -
two concluding lines, see Gen. iv. 10
11; Job xvi. 18.

CHAPTER XXVIL.

The connexion between this and the preceding chapter is obvious.

The

prophet, having announced the appearance of Jehovah to avenge his people,
now proceeds further to predict the complete destruction of the Babylo-

nians, | ;

he assures them of the Divine care and protection, 2—6; shews

234

the lenity with which they had been

ISATAH.

(CHAP. XXVII.

punished, and the design and result of

their punishment, 7—9; describes the desolate condition of Babylon, 10,
11; and announces the great ingathering of the Jews which should follow
the destruction of the Babylonian empire; and their engaging anew in the

worship of God at Jerusalem, 12, 13.

1 In that day shall Jehovah punish with his sword,
The hard, the great, and the powerful sword,

Leviathan, the fleet serpent,

1. sm oa, αὐ that time, i.e. at the
period of the Medo-Persian invasion.
The ascription of a sword to Jehovah
is not unusual; see Deut. xxxii. 41,
42; Isa. xxxiv. 5; Ezek. xxi. ὦ, 4, 5.
It denotes the instrument which he
employs in executing his judgments.
The three epithets by which it is
described correspond to the three
monsters, or the triple character of
the power on which it was to inflict
the judgments. ὉΠ, Gesenius takes
to be a noun with the termination ἢ,
and instances jpv72 as analogously
formed; but it seems preferable to
regard both as compounds : jf signify-
ing a serpent, monster, or such like.
my) is a wreath, that which is convolved
or twisted; from ™, to join, wreathe,

9
&.; ‘Syr. JaXS eka see conjunatt ;
Arab. usr torsit se et vertit funem;

III. “lJ, inflexit se et spiras fecit serpens ;
kis] I, serpens flecus. From a com-

parison of the several passages in
which the word occurs, it clearly
appears to be synonymous with p27, a
great fish, sea-monster, serpent, and ὉΠ),
which, in its general acceptation, sig-
nifies all kinds of larger animals that
move witha wriggling motion, whether
on the land or in the water. That it
more specifically denotes the crocodile,
Job iii. 8, xl. 25, has been regarded as
almost a settled point since this inter-
pretation, first given by Beza and
Diodati, was learnedly supported by
Bochart, Hieroz. P. IIL. lib. v. cap. 16
—18. To express more forcibly the

qualities of the monster here referre:}
to, he is described first as 172 373, and
then as ΠΡ wm, As ™3 signifies to
reach across, a8 a bar, Aq., Symm., and
the Vulg., render it accordingly; but
ὄφιν φεύγοντα, given by the LXX., is
more agreeable to the usual acceptation
of the verb fo flee, be fleet : serpens fugax.

Comp. the Arab. Sy) oh the son of

fleetness, i.e. the gazelle. It is used in
connexion with ὉΠ only in one other
passage, Job xxvi. 13, where, however,
the reference evidently is to the celes-
tial hemisphere. iniY, tortuous, from
"2, to twist, wind, coil, describes the
sinuosities, or coils, which serpents
form with their bodies, by the sudden
unfolding of which they are enabled
to spring forward, and thereby effect
a very rapid motion.

“Saucius at serpens sinuosa volumina
versat,

Arrectisque horret. squamis et sibilat
ore,

Arduus insurgens.”— Zeid. lib. xi.
753.

yin, Arab.

Ad, serpens inyens, draco,

ῳ
a kind of large serpent; also a large
aquatic animal.

Comp. Fe) » thunnus

piscis, the tunny, which is the largest
fish of the whale species found in the
Mediterranean. Ininterpreting this
passage, the chief difficulty lies in
determining whether one gigantic
monster is intended, of which the
several epithets employed describe the
character; or whether more than one,

CHAP. XXVII.]|

ISAIAH.

235

Even Leviathan, the coiling serpent :—
Yea, he will kill the monster that is in the sea.
2 In that day, sing ye concerning the vineyard:

say two or three, are meant. Kimchi,
Abenezra, Jarchi, Vitringa, Lowth,
Jenour, Hitzig, Scholz, and others,
consider three distinct animals to have
been chosen as the symbolical repre-
sentatives of as many hostile powers ;
but which these are they are not
agreed: some supposing them to be
Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt; others,
Egypt, Assyria, and Tyre; others
differently. If Leviathan, occurring
the second time, be merely a repetition
of the former name, for the purpose
of introducing an additional epithet,
then enly two monsters are exhibited,
which may be viewed as representing
Babylon and Egypt. In this case the
second Vaz must, as freq., be rendered
even. Schnurrer, Eichhorn, and Gese-
nius, are of opinion that the various
epithets describe only one animal, and
that, how incongruous soever it would
be to represent such an animal as
actually existing in nature, it is in no
degree abhorrent from the symbolical
language of prophecy—the end of
which is, in such case, to magnify the
terrific character of the empire for
which it stands. The different epi-
thetsaremerely thesymbolical drapery,
shewing the image to advantage. Thus
Dan. vii. 7, 8; Rev. xiii. 1—10; non-
descripts, somewhat similar, are intro-
duced. On this principle, fully to set
forth the formidable, cruel, and de-
structive nature of the Babylonian
power, a combination of the hugest,and
most horrid monsters was required;
and certainly none could have been
more appropriately selected than those
here specified. Luzzato agrees with
Gesenius in supposing that the Baby-
lonian empire is meant; but he de-
cidedly thinks that three distinct sub-
jects are specified as itsemblem. Both
TY, and oy, are applied to Hyypt,
Ps. xxiv. 13, 14, and 2, or pin, Ezek.
XXxix. 3, xxxll.2; but this is no reason
why Isaiah should not have used the
same well-known symbolical terms in
application to Babylon, the subject of
which he had just been treating.

This interpretation appears, on the
whole, best supported. For the use
of 0, the sea, in reference to Babylon,
see chap. xxi. 1.

2. From this verse to the fifth
inclusive we have a song of encourage-
ment, in which Jehovah, under the
symbol of the keeper of a vineyard,
is represented as the protector and
nourisher of the Jewish church.
Houbigant, Lowth, Dathe, Schnurrer,
and Boothroyd, consider this song as
responsive :—Jehovah speaking, ver.
3; the vineyard responding, ver. 4;
Jehovah again in the second distich of
the same verse, and part of the 5th ;
then the vineyard, &. See Lowth’s
translation. This fanciful, and in
some parts very forced construction,
appears to have originated in an
undue pressing of what Gesenius
takes to be the primary idea conveyed
by 722, to sing in responses. The verb,
however, is never thus used; all the
passages in which it occurs simply
convey the notion of singing, or the
repetition of the same words; but
not of dialogistic response.—N77 OY2
is parallel in point of time with the
same phrase, ver. 1, and shews that
when the Divine judgments were in
execution upon the Babylonians, the
Jews should be safe. On the com-
parison of the Jewish church to a
vineyard, see chap. v. 1—7. Instead
of V2 0, a vineyard of wine, or red
wine, V2 O12, a vineyard of delight, is
found in thirty-nine MSS., the Soncin.
Edit., and that of Van der Hooght ;
and is countenanced by the LXX.,
and apparently by the Targum; but
the former is exhibited in about seventy
MSS., in sixty-eight printed editions,
and has the support of the Syr. and
Vulg. Being the more difficult, it is
in all probability the genuine reading.
Since 07 does not necessarily express
the idea of rineyard, but simply that
of field or garden ina state of culti-
vation, there is no tautology in adding
wo to it. Comp. mo, olive yard,
Judg. xv.5. The combination 127 Ὁ,

236

3 I Jehovah do keep it—
Every moment I water it—
Lest any should injure it,

I keep it night and day.

4 There is no fury in me:

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XXVII.

Yet, would that I had the briers and thorns in battle!

I would advance against them ;
I would burn them up at once.

5 But if any will cling to my protection,

He shall make peace with me ;

Peace with me he shall make.

however, occurs Amos v. ll. The
words form a nomin. absolute: As it
regards the vineyard, sing ye, &c. 073 1s
an epicenic noun, and therefore takes
m after it.

3. Nearly thirty MSS., jive editions,
and the Syr., read 7px, instead of 172,
but obviously from an original mis-
take. 772 is here used in the sense of
hostilely invading, so as to injure, de-
stroy, &c. Gwinglius renders, xe quis
eam invadat. OY) has DY ΤῸ corres-
ponding to it, just as in Job vii. 18, it
has 0>2.. Both plurals express con-
tinual repetition.

4. The language of Jehovah at the
beginning of this verse is evidently to
be restricted to the vineyard, or people
of the Jews. As it respected them
there was no fury in him; but it was
reserved for his and their enemies.
See chap. xxxiv. 2, lxiii. 3, 5, 6; Nah.
1.2. The LXX. and Syr. read 73h, ὦ
wall, instead of M27. 227 stands for
) JE. Ὁ, as ἜΣ for 7? Ἤν», Neh. ix. 28,
and is to be taken in the usual idio-
matic sense of wishing. It is here
equivalent to a strong adversative
mode of construction, as, But if any
oppose me, ζο. Mo WY, an asyndeton
for m4) Wav, which is found ina few
MSS., and is expressed in the LXX.,
Aq., Symm., Targ., Vulg. We have
other instances in ΠΝ Np, chap. xxviii.
8; Yow pip, xxxii. 13; Ty wow, Hab.
iii. 11. The 7 in 73, and the 7} in
Try, are the femin. suffixes used dis-
tributively as neuters in reference to
moyav. By the briers and thorns are
meant hostile powers, those who op-

pose themselves to God and _ his
people ; wicked and ungodly men.
Comp. chap. x. 17. In the Arabic
poem of Amru the same figurative
use of one of the terms occurs: “ We
stripped the branches of every thorn
that opposed us.” Ὁ, to advance

upon, attack successfully ; Arab. ee,

desuper percussit ; V. oppressit, vicit ali-
quem; Vulg. gradiar super eam; Schmid.
cnvadam ea.

5. ix, Arab. a), aut, non, nisi, &C. or;

used here as a conditional particle, du¢
if; ἐὰν δὲ, as the LXX. properly give
it, Exod. xxi. 36. This verse exhibits
in the strongest light the benignity of
the Divine character. His enemies
must be punished; but if any of them
repent and sue for peace, it will as-
suredly be granted. ἩΡῸΞ PIT is a
mode of expression borrowed from
the practice of fleeing to, and laying
fast hold of altars, &c. as asylums or
places of refuge. 1 Kings i. 50. Comp.
for td, Ps. xxxvii. 39, xlii. 2; Isa.
xxv. 4. ‘If any one would avail him-
self of my protection, make me his
refuge, test that security which alone
is to be found in me, let him,” &c.
ὁ DW Tiny’, according to Josh. ix. 15,
would be. he shall grant me peace; but ?
is frequently used in the sense of, iz
respect to, as it regards, &c. and is here
equivalent to DY, with; ἃ superior
being referred to. The ancient ver-
sions have read 1, and the Syr. has
the verb in the first person. The re-
petition of the words expresses cer-

CHAP. XXVII.|

ISATAH.

237

6 In coming days Jacob shall take root,
Tsrael shall flower and blossom,
And fill the face of the world with fruit.
7 Hath He smitten him as He smote him who smote him ?
Is he slain like the slaying of his slain?
8 Very moderately when she was put away didst thou contend

with her:

He took her away with his rough blast in the day of the east

wind ;

tainty ; and the inversion, by which
DIB, peace, is placed first, has the feli-
citous effect of giving prominence to
what is supposed most powerfully to
interest the mind of one who seeks
reconciliation. Comp. Hos. viii. 11.

6. The song being ended, the pro-
phet proceeds to assure the captive
Jews of the future prosperity of the
nation, when restored to their own
land. The metaphor is borrowed from
the practice of horticulture, and was
naturally suggested by the subject of
_ the preceding verses. O37 is ellip-
| tical for Dxat DvD, iz the days which
| are coming ; and is not to be rendered
. as if in construction with 37%, which
our translators have done. For ὑπ,
see Ps. lxxx. 10. 3m is here, as chap.
xxiv. 4; xxvi. 18, the Jewish world.

7. In such appeals, the interroga-
tive 7, and the corresponding particle
ox, have the force of a strong nega-
tive. Directly the reverse of what is
expressed is required in the answer
implied. The suffix in Ym is to be
referred to the enemy of Israel, not
to Israel himself—732 being the paral-
lel term with which it corresponds.
The punishment of the Jews was not
to be compared, in point of severity,
with that of those who were the
instruments of inflicting it: the num-
ber of the Assyrians and Babylonians
killed by their conquerors far exceeded
that of the Hebrews slain by these
enemies in their incursions into the
kingdoms of Israel and Judah. For
the paronomasia, see chap. xxii. 17,
18.
8. To fill up the ellipsis, subaud.

bax, Arab. Ql, which corrects or
denies what has just been expressed,

and introduces an affirmative propo-
sition expressing the opposite, xo, on
the contrary. Instead of having treated
his people as he had treated their
enemies, Jehovah had exercised great
lenity towards them. Assyria and Ba-
bylon were utterly destroyed ; whereas
the Jews, though chastised, were pre-
served and restored to circumstances
of great prosperity in their native
country. Of yexo3, Michaelis ob-
serves, “a strange word, of which I
can give no satisfactory explanation.”
It has been a stumbling-block to
many other interpreters; some of
whom have had recourse to violent
means in order to relieve the diffi-
culty. The radical idea seems to be
expressed in Aq., Symm., Theod.,
Targ., Syr.—the authors of these ver-

.Sions having derived the word from

md, a measure. As to form, if it is
not to be taken for a reduplicate
verb, changing the punctuation into
ΝΌΜΟΣ, and thus exhibiting a deno-
minative from the above noun, it may
be regarded as a repetition of it in
the form of a compound ; the 7 being
dropped, and the Dagesh compen-
sative and conjunctive being inserted
in the Ὁ. Its resolution, therefore,
will be TND ANDI, by measure, measure,
1. 6. very measuredly, moderately ; as
pray prov, deep, deep, very deep. Comp.

the Arab. lly, intendit rem; ω»»,

dousldos revit pro arbitrio, &e. ; rte,
rector, administrator, one who eatends,
or measures out what is due to those
over whom he is placed. Thus ΒΕ,
wen, and especially the latter word,
as parallel in its application with that
in question, Jer. x. 24, xxx. 11, xlvi.

GG

238

ISAIAH.

(CHAP. XXVII.

9 Nevertheless by this is the iniquity of Jacob expiated ;
And this is all the fruit—the removal of his sin:
When he maketh all the stones of the altar
Like lime-stones broken in pieces ;
The images of Astarte and the pillars of the sun shall rise no

more.

10 For the fortified city is in a state of desolation,
A dwelling emptied and deserted like the wilderness ;

28. The fem. suffixes in T2277 ΠΡῸΣ,
refer to the Jewish state or church,
viewed as espoused to Jehovah ; and
the former verb, while it appropriately
expresses the expulsion of the Jews
from their own land, is the very term
employed chap. 1. 1, for divorcing a
wife. In the latter there is a sudden
change of the person from the third
to the second, or the direct form of
address, which, as I have already had
occasion to notice, is very common in
Hebrew, especially in poetry. 1324,
Kimchi 07, fo remove, see 2 Sam. xx.
13 ; Prov. xxv. 4,5. By “the day of
the east wind” is meant the judgment
inflicted by the Babylonians : DY being
put for day of calamity, judgment,
&c, See chap. ii. 12. The ΟῚ», Theod.
καύσων, is the hot wind, called by the

Arabs eres Samoom, (Arab. Ver. Jer.
XVili. 17, ee ra aE the Simoom wind,)

which blows from the south-east,
across the arid wastes to the east of
Palestine, during the hot months of
summer. It resembles the steam
from the mouth of an oven, scorches
the grass, and fills up the wells with
sand, and, when more than ordinarily
violent, is most destructive in its
effects. It seldom lasts longer than
thirty-six or forty hours. See Robin-
son’s Calmet, art. Winds. To this the
Babylonish invasion is aptly compared.

9. 323, like the Arab. ωϑ , has here

an adversative force, and marks a
transition from the description of the
calamity to that of its happy results.
752, in the expiatory sense, implies
suffering with a view to the removal
of guilt, whether such suffering be
that of the offender, or of another in

his stead. The word is frequently
used of civil as well as of religious
expiations, The meaning here is, the
punishment threatened against the
idolatry, and other sins of the Jews,
had been endured in Babylon ; and
the evils having been removed, they
were to be pardoned and delivered.
The fruit or consequence of the Divine
judgment upon them was the aban-
donment of idolatry. This is ex-
pressly stated in the latter half of the
verse. 72 ΠῚ is equivalent to all this.
Gesenius preposterously interprets
mara of the Divine altar at Jerusalem,
and considers Jehovah to be the
agent spoken of, whereas it is evi-
dently the idolatrous altar, or altars,
the prophet has in view; the entire
destruction of which he ascribes to
the repentant Jews. 3 occurs only
in this place. Comp. Arab. > cala
viva, unslaked lime. For os and
D227, see chap. xvii. 8.

10, 11. Schnurrer, Gesenius, Maurer,
and others, take the ruined city here
described to be Jerusalem ; but such
construction ill suits the connexion.
It is more consistent with the entire
context to apply the description to
Babylon—the destruction of which
proved the death-blow of idolatry, so
far as the Jews were concerned ; and
was, in a great measure, the occasion
of its fall in that part of the East.
11a is properly solitariness, separation ;
but here it means the condition of
one who is abandoned and left to
himself; desolation. ΤΠ, which is
otherwise used of a house, or dwelling
in general, is here, and Zeph. ii. 6,
employed to denote the habitations
of shepherds. 5»D, her branches, i.e.
the branches of the trees and bushes

CHAP. XXVII.|

ISAIAH.

239

There the calf shall feed, and there shall it lie down,
And entirely consume her branches.

11 When her boughs wither, they shall be broken off;
Women shall come and make fires with them.
For it was a people of no understanding ; °
Therefore he that made it had no mercy upon it,
And he that formed it shewed it no favour.

But it shall be im that day,

That Jehovah shall have an olive-harvest,
From the branch of the river to the torrent of Egypt,
And ye shall be gleaned one by one, O ye sons of Israel.

13 And it shall be in that day,

left in her deserted gardens and
parks ; or which had grown up among
her ruins. The gathering of fuel in
the East belonged to females, on
whom devolved the baking and other
culinary occupations. Besides dung,
which was most generally in use,
thorns, vine-twigs, ὅσο. were collected
for this purpose. To express the
diminutive character of the trees
referred to, Y37, which is otherwise
masculine, is conceived of as feminine,
and made the nominative to the femi-
nine verb 7728n, the plural form of
which is accounted for by the noun
being a collective. The suffix in 77x
further shews that Y¥7? is an ideal,
though not a grammatical feminine.
See Ewald. καὶ 363, 364, 366 ; Lee, art.
215. 5. The concluding words de-
scribe the awfully brutish condition
of the idolaters of Babylon, and their
entire abandonment by Jehovah to
merited destruction. The epenthetic
Nuns are emphatic.

12,13. A lucid prediction of the
recovery of the Jews after the de-
struction of Babylon by Cyrus. 27,

Arab. las, vehementer percussit, Srondes

ex arbore decussit ; to strike or beat off
olives from the trees—the mode in
which they are reaped, Deut. xxiv.
20. See on chap. xvu.6. The image
is employed to set forth the collection
of Jews from the places in Palestine
in which they had lived during the
general dispersion. The individual
gathering intimates that none of them
should be neglected. ‘The boundaries

here specified are those which sepa- ,
rated Palestine, in its widest extent,
from Babylonia and Egypt ; and com-
prehend the regions occupied by such
of the Jews as had not been carried
away into captivity ; but who, never-
theless, lived in a disunited state,
having no civil or religious polity.
TET naw, the stream of the river, i.e.
collectively, the streams or canals of
the Euphrates. Zwinglius translates,
ἃ rapido flumine Euphrate. The term
n2a8 was in all probability suggested
by the reference to the olive-harvest
—n)av signifying the branch of a tree,
between which and that of a river
there is a strong analogy. The radical
signification of 52% is to flow. That
by the oso ‘m2 is meant ls

wz, the torrent Harish, on the

confines of Palestine and Egypt, is
now universally admitted ; LXX. Ῥινο-
kopodpa; Symm. and of dour. render,
ἕως τοῦ χειμάῤῥου Αἰγύπτου, to the
winter-brook of Egypt, which cannot
possibly be applied to the Nile. See
Numb. xxxiv. 5; Josh. xv. 4, 47;
1 Kings viii. 65; 2 Kings xxiv. 7, in
which last passage we have the same
frontiers as in the present verse.
Tox) is not in construct. with 7x, as
the points would seem to intimate.
See Zech. xi. 7.

Having predicted the restoration
of those Jews who should be found
within the boundaries of the Holy
Land, Isaiah next foreshews that
such as had been removed beyond

240

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XXVIII.

That a great trumpet shall be sounded,
And those shall come who were perishing in the land of

Assyria,

And the outeasts in the land of Egypt,
And shall worship Jehovah in the holy mount of Jerusalem.

these limits, and were in circum-
stances of lamentable religious desti-
tution, should also return and enjoy
their ancient privileges in Jerusalem.
By the trumpet we are doubtless to
understand proclamations of liberty
to those who had been subject to the
sway of the Babylonian and Egyptian

made by Cyrus, Canibyses, Darius,
&e. That Assyria, and not Babylon,
is mentioned, may be owing to the
greater proportion of the Hebrews
having been transported during the
Assyrian monarchy ; and also to the
circumstance, that the country con-
tinued, in a great measure, the same.

kings. These proclamations were

CHAPTER XXVIII.

This chapter commences with a denunciation against the kingdom of the ten
tribes, 1—4; and, after touching on the prosperous state of things in
Judah under the reign of Hezekiah, 5, 6, the prophet abruptly proceeds to
describe the deterioration which should speedily take place among that
favoured division of the Hebrew nation—the profligacy of their teachers,
7,8; their mockery of Divine things, 9, 10; and its condign punishment,
11—15. He then announces the Messiah, and the security of all who
should avail themselves of his salvation, 16; points out the vanity of all
other refuges, 17; and predicts the awful judgments which should be
brought upon the unbelievers, 18S—22. The conclusion, 23—29, consists
of an appeal to the skill of the husbandman, in justification of the
various methods of the Divine procedure in conducting the processes
of moral cultivation.

1 Wo to the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim,
And the fading flower of their glorious beauty ;

1. This and the three following
chapters appropriately begin with ‘7,
on account of the pointed denun-
ciations contained in them, though
with these denunciations are com-
bined promises of mercy. Samaria,
the capital of the ten tribes, was

built on a beautiful, fruitful hill,
strong by nature, from its insulated
situation in the middle of a deep and
broad valley, and rendered still more
so by the fortifications that were
erected for its defence. Dr. Robinson
says, that “it would be difficult to

CHAP. XXVIII. |

ISATAH.

241

Which is upon the head of the rich valley
Of them that are vanquished by wine.
2 Behold, a strong and a powerful one of Jehovah,

find, in all Palestine, a situation of
equal strength, fertility, and beauty
combined. In all these particulars
it has greatly the advantage over
Jerusalem.” Bib. Research. iii. p.
146.. It was built by Omri, king of
Israel, and became a place of great
splendour and luxury under the fol-
‘lowing monarchs, especially under
Ahab and Jeroboam II. 1 Kings xxii.
39; Amos ii. 15, iv. 1, 2. It was
repeatedly attacked by Ben-hadad,
king of Syria, but held out against
him, though reduced to great ex-
tremity. 2 Kings vi. vii. It was
afterwards taken, after a siege of three
years, by Shalmaneser, king of As-
syria, who exercised great cruelties
en its inhabitants, and reduced it to
a heap ofruins, 2 Kings xvii. 6,7, &c. ;
Micah i.6; Hos. x. 14, 15. In this
overthrow was fulfilled the present
prophecy, which was, in all proba-
bility, delivered a few years previous
to the reign of Hezekiah. See verse
5—7. It raised itself somewhat, and
was again depressed in after times,
till, finally, it was restored by Herod
the Great, who gave it the name of
Sebaste, in honour of Augustus; a
name retained by the small village that
now occupies its site. A beautiful
colonnade still remains to attest to
its former splendour. See the travels
of Maundrell, Richardson, and Buck-
ingham.—Cities built on eminences,
and especially fortified cities thus
situated, were naturally compared to
a crown. It is to this circumstance
the prophet refers, and not to the
chaplets, or wreaths of flowers, worn
by the ancients at banquets, as some
have imagined. The passage quoted
by Lowth from Wisdom ii. 7, 8, aptly
describes such custom, but throws no
light upon the present text. Samaria
was the proud boast of the dissipated
inhabitants of the country, and es-
pecially of its own inhabitants ; but
it was hastening to its fall, and is on
this account compared to the flowers
with which persons were crowned,

which soon decayed. It has been
doubted whether the drunkenness
here adverted to is to be taken lite-
rally, or whether it is to be under-
stood figuratively of mental infatua-
tion ; a8 we say, intoxicated with
pleasure, zeal, &. Thus the LXX. οἱ
μεθύοντες ἄνευ οἴνου. That the former
is the more probable, appears from
the prevalence of this sin among the
Samaritans, (see Amos iv. 1, which sets
forth a most depraved state of morals;)
and from the character of the Jews,
ver. 7, which is evidently exhibited as
parallel to that of the Ephraimites.
Comp. also, Amos vi. 1, 6, and Hos.
vil. 5. pO, smitten of wine, i. e.
overcome by it, iutoxicated. The
phrase corresponds to 05%, drunkards,
at the beginning of the verse. The

Arabs similarly use «JS, vicit et

inebriavit eum vinum dactylorum ;

go>) secuit vem, percussit, inebriavit

potus ; - ye? prostravit, ts} wre
prostratus poculi ᾿ς «Ὁ, percussit, VII.

victus vino fuit. 'Thusalso the Greeks,
μεθυπλήξ, οἰνοπλήξ ; and the Latins,
multo percussus tempora Baccho.
Tibull. 1, 2,3. oy20, fatnesses, being
merely a noun used adjectively to
qualify 3, which, as to sense, is the
noun strictly in construction with
wav, it was left in the absolute
state. Hitzig thinks it was so left to
prevent the termination of three
words in*.

2. Instead of "χοῦ, a vast number of
MSS., and the first three printed
editions, read, 717°, which must be re-
garded as the original lection. The
? simply marks the dative of posses-
sion: “a mighty and powerful instru-
ment, whom the Lord will raise up
and employ in executing his anger
upon the ten tribes.” This instru-
ment was Shalmaneser, king of As-
syria, by whom Samaria was taken,
after a powerful resistance, about the

bo
Aid
bo

ISAIAH.

(CHAP. XXVIIJ.

Like a hail-storm, like a destructive tempest,
Like a flood of mighty overflowing water,
Casteth it to the ground with force.
3 With the feet shall be trodden in pieces
The proud crowns of the drunkards of Ephraim.
4 And the fading flower of their glorious beauty,
That is upon the head of the rich valley,
Shall be as the early fig before the summer harvest,
Which one looketh at, and while it is yet in his hand

He swalloweth it.

5 In that day shall Jehovah of Hosts

year B.C. 721. Before ww, subaud. 3,
as carried forward in idea from O73.
For the force of 222 comp. FMR, 22,

ΞΡ, 207, 227, Chald. 297, Arab. bs,

all of which verbs convey the idea of
cutting, cutting off, exscinding, το. Ty
usually signifies to let down or place
gently ; bat is here, as in Numb. xix.
9, and Amos v. 7, employed in the
sense of throwing, casting down. V3
immediately following, as well as the
nature of the case, shews this. The
nomin. is Shalmaneser.

3. 725977 being in the plural, Lowth
and others would read minoy, but all
the ancient versions have the singular,
and there is no variety in the MSS.
To obviate the apparent difficulty, the
Rabbins explain MY as a collective ;
but we have other instances of the
third plur. femin. of the future used
for the third singular, as Exod. i. 10,
mon. MAP; Judg. v. 26, Twn AT ;
Job xvii. ‘16, MTN MPM ; and such
construction alone suits the con-
nexion. I would suggest, however,
that in all such cases the 73 is a form
of intensity rather than of plurality.

4, bai nse for nos mys; like awn
for No 7733, Prov. xxiv. 25, The
participle is used as an abstract noun,
to serve the purpose of an adjective.
The change of gender in 72" is merely
to vary the form, ver. 1. 3, ¢he

early fig, Arab. ΩΣ Boccora, from 723,
to bear early or first, as fruit, children,

&e. Aq. πρωτογέννημαα LXX. πρό-
ἕρομος σύκου. It 15. a peculiar kind,

which, after a mild winter, ripens
about the end of June, and sometimes
earlier; whereas, the summer and
winter figs do not come to maturity
till the months of August and Novem-
ber. It surpasses these in relish ; and
is on this account, as well as that of
its early appearance, eagerly desired
by the inhabitants of the East. While
the others hang long upon the tree
after they become ripe, the boccora
drops immediately on the tree being
slightly shaken by the hand, or even
of itself, Jer. xxiv. 2; Hos. ix. 10;
Micah vii. 1. It is from these circum-
stances the prophet here borrows his
image, in order to shew how suddenly
and easily Samaria should be taken.
A three years’ siege must have been
reckoned short in ancient times, since
that of Tyre, under Nebuchadnezzar,
lasted thirteen, and that of Askalon
twenty-nine years. The 7 in 723 is
to be read without the Mappic. 8%
m57, which Lowth ventures to call “a
miserable tautology,” and which, after
Houbigant, he alters to T8177 Mx, is to
be retained as good Hebrew. See
chap. xvi. 10, and xxviii. 34, Besides,
the idea of plucking the early fig would
quite spoil the beauty of the figure.
‘822 AT3, Zwinglius forcibly renders :

ferme priusquam in manum venerit.

5, 6. Having predicted the speedy
downfal of the apostate kingdom,
which was accompanied by the trans-
portation of the people beyond the
Euphrates, Isaiah directs attention to
the manifestations of Divine favour
to be experienced by the kingdom of

e

CHAP. XXVIII. |

ISAIAH,

243

Become a glorious crown and a beautiful diadem,

To the residue of his people :

6 And a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth on the bench,
And prowess to those who drive back the battle to the gate.
7 Yet even these err through wine,
And reel through strong drink ;
The priest and the prophet err through strong drink ;
They are overpowered with wine; they reel through strong

drink ;

They err in vision ; they stagger in judgment.
8 For all tables are full of vomit and filth ;

There is no place clean.

Judah. God would be the protection
and boast of his remaining tribes ; he
would endow their judges with dis-
cernment in matters pertaining to
the legal tribunals, and their warriors
with power to drive back into their
own cities any enemies that might
invade the land. x77 oY: cannot,
without violence, be interpreted of
any other period than that to which
reference had just been made. It
comprehends the reign of pious Heze-
kiah. ype, a diadem, or crown, 50
called from the wreaths round the
head, of which it consisted. Arab.

ye pleauit, torsit ; ὃ ARS : pee,
erines plexi. Eth. RG_,e.= torsit, con-
torsit, plexuit. BOAT 15. put ellipti-
cally for HEWDT NED, on the seat or
throne of justice. Comp. Ps. ix. 5.
Before 22 supply ?. 72079, battle or
war, for 7977) Hx, foreign warriors.
mw, “to the gate,” ἡ. 6. of the enemy;
not only repelling his attack in Judea,
but driving him back into his own

fortified places. The 7 is that of di-
rection or motion. Comp. 1 Sam.
xvii. 52.

7, 8. The predicted prosperity,
however, would only be of short con-
tinuance : the teachers and rulers of
Judah would soon resemble those of
Ephraim in sottishness and impiety.
Most expositors refer this description
to the state of things in Judah at the
time when Isaiah wrote ; but it seems
preferable to apply it to that in the

reign of Manasseh, which he here
predicts. To express the great in-
temperance in which they would in-
dulge, he employs synonymes and
repetitions ; and points out its influ-
ence on their official character. ¥922
mary, lit. they are swallowed up by

v
wine; Syr. “SND, prevaluit, vicit,
absorpsit, devoravit; Arab. ey, per-

venit, contegit, percenit ad finem ; victt,
afiixit aliquem, cum uy? oceupavit

eum totum res; to be entirely under the
influence of any thing. 'The persons
referred to had given themselves so
completely up to the influence of
wine, as to have destroyed their
character and salutary influence in
society. There is a manifest allusion
to the greediness with which they
emptied their cups. What they had
thus swallowed might be said, by its
overpowering influence, to swallow or
absorb them, as it destroyed their
mental and moral vigour. Comp. Hos.
iv. 11. The prepositions 3 and Ὁ are
here evidently equivalent. 75, as the
participle of 7}, properly signifies ὦ
seer, and is the ancient name for
prophet; but it is here used as an
abstract noun, with the acceptation
of vision ; as M7 is, ver. 15, for cove-
nant or agreement. ΓΒ occurs only
here in Kal; but from the connexion,
as well as from its use in Hiph., Jer,
x. 4, and its derivatives, D5, that

944 ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XXVIII.

9 Whom should he teach knowledge ?
And whom should he cause to understand the report ?
Those who are weaned from the milk ;
Those who are removed from the breasts.

10 For there is precept by precept, precept by precept ;

Rule by rule, rule by rule ;
A little here, a little there.

which makes to stagger or fall, and ΡΞ, a
tottering or wavering, it clearly signifies
to move unsteadily, to act in a wavering,
undecided manner, which, in giving
judgment, is to be reprobated. Comp.

the Arab. E)s, fregit, fractus fuit ;
luwatus et loco motus fuit; τ ΚΑΘ,

fatuus fuit. There seems no ground
for the acceptation, judgment-seat, tri-
bunal, which Gesenius ascribes to
mode. It is used adverbially for 7753,
z.e. in performing that wherein the
judicial office consists ; judging, giving
sentence: the 3 being as freq. omitted
in the second member of the parallel-
ism. Perhaps the 7 is added to in-
timate the feebleness and inefficiency
of such judgments as they pro-
nounced. The eighth verse forcibly
depicts the loathsome character, and
the extent of the abomination. 782 x’?
is an asyndeton. See chap. xxvii. 5.

9, 10. These verses contain the
taunting language of the drunken
priests and judges of the Jews, who
repel with scorn the idea that they
should require the plain and reiterated
lessons which Jehovah taught by his
messengers. Such elementary in-
struction was fit only for babes: it
was an insult to their understanding
to suppose that they stood in need of
it. That the nominative to τὺ and
ὙΦ is Jehovah, or the prophet, teach-
ing by his authority, seems beyond
all doubt. The last two members of
ver. 9 contain answers to the ques-
tions proposed in the first two, and
are not a continuation of the inter-
rogatives, as Gesenius and others sup-
pose. I ‘nn? and DIN Why are
instances of construction with a pre-
position between the nouns. Comp.
Ezek. xiii. 2; Hos. vii. 5. The lan-
guage of ver. 10, 2 2 2 18) WI

OW Yyt OW Yyr 172, more resembles that
of inebriated persons, than any used
by persons in a state of sobriety. The
words are obviously selected to suit
the character of those supposed to
employ them; and, by their mono-
syllabic and repetitious forms, admi-
rably express the initiatory process of
tuition, which they indignantly de-
spised. “ Mirasunt hic Anadiploses.”
Zwing. %2 is used Hos. v. 11, as here,
in the acceptation of precept or com-
mand, from ™3, in Piel, to appoint,
charge, command ; usually M32. %, lit.

a line or cord, Arab., 845, the same,
from use? to twist, bind, ἕο. It is

here used metaphorically for Jaw, rule,
&c., which marks out the ἐμ of con-
duct men ought to pursue. The LXX.,
mistaking the 1 in 1 for Ἢ, as they did
Tin ver. 9, rendering 727, κακὰ ; and
deriving \7 from ™p, fo wait for, expect,
translate thus: Θλίψιν ἐπὶ θλίψιν
προσδέχου, ἐλπίδα ἐπ᾽ ἐλπίδι, ἔτι μικρὸν
ἔτι μικρὸν. The Syriac translator,
still less to the purpose, amplifies the
statement made ver. 8,—in all proba-
bility misled by the resemblance of
the words. He is, however, followed
by Michaelis. The hypothesis of Ge-

‘senius, that there may be a reference

to successive additions of laws, &c.,
in the Pentateuch, made by prophets
in the days of the kings, could only
have been forced into this passage by
the spirit of unbelief, which obsti-
nately denies the authenticity and
antiquity of that portion of the sacred
volume. See, for their able vindica-
tion against the attempts of this
author, Gramberg, Hartmann, De
Wette, and others, the Rev. H. J.
Rose’s Hulsean Lectures for 1833, and
Die Authentie des Pentateuchs, by
Hengstenberg; Berlin, 1836—1838.

4 eee

CHAP. XXVIII.|

ISATAH.

11 Nay, but with barbarous lips, and in another tongue,

He will speak to this people ;
12 Because he said to them:

This is the rest; give rest to the weary ;

And this is the tranquillity ;

But they were unwilling to hear.

The words are often preposterously
quoted in application to the abundant
possession of religious privileges. Both
this verse and ver. 13 convey the idea
of paucity, or a mere outline of in-
struction, and not that of fulness.
DvV—owv, here—there.

11, Ὁ has here, after the interroga-
tions, a strongly implied negative
force. Comp. Job xiv. 16, xxxi. 18.
The verse contains a Divine threaten-
ing against the scoffers. “Jus talionis
indicatur,” Schmid. The language
they employed in cavilling at the pro-
phetic warnings was all but barbarous,
it consisted of barely intelligible
sounds: they should, by way of con-
dign punishment, hear the foreign, and
to them apparently mocking accents
of the Chaldeans, whom God would
employ as the interpreters of his
severe but righteous will. Comp. Jer.
v. 15, where the language of the Chal-
dzeans is declared to be unintelligible
to the Jews,—i2) vin ND 2,—either
because it was that spoken by the
Northern tribes which emigrated into
Babylon, or because the Semitic dialect
spoken in Babylon differed so much
from that of the Hebrews as not to
be understood by them. In this dia-
lect, DTHD 1), it was necessary for
Daniel and his companions to receive
instruction, Dan. i. 4. Comp. also
chap. xxxili. 19.7 »2w, lit. arbarians
of, or as to lip: i.e. those who speak a
barbarous or foreign language. Comp.

ν
the Syr. RSS balbutivit ; 30>

fiNscko Les, gut ut subsannantes
loquuntur. Liber Adami, i. 324, 7.

Arab. dels), impuritas, barbarismus.

The passage is employed by Paul, 1
Cor, xiv. 20, 21, quite in the spirit of
the connexion in which it here stands,

He tacitly compares the Corinthian
faction, which boasted of the faculty
of speaking in unknown tongues, to
the puerile characters adverted to ver.
9, (παιδία, νηπιάζετε, &e.) and then
reminds them, that speaking in such
languages had been represented in the
Jewish Scriptures—év τῷ vopo—as a
punishment, or a mark of the Divine
displeasure, and not as a matter of
desire or envy. The quotation agrees
neither with the words of the Heb.
text, nor with those of the LXX., but
it corresponds verbally with the ver-
sion marked ᾿Αλλ. in Origen’s Poly-
glott.

12. To take 1x as the relative pro-
noun, would, in this connexion, be in-
tolerably-harsh. Gesenius treats it as
redundant, or, at least, as merely a
connecting particle. It seems clearly.
to be used in its causal sense: decuuse,
and is equivalent to Tx p>, Ws non,
Jehovah had, by his messengers,
pointed out to the priests and judges
the only means by which they could
secure and enjoy true tranquillity ; viz.
faith and obedience; and he had
charged them to teach these means to
the people, in order that they might
be relieved from the molestations
which defection from the Divine law
had occasioned; but all had been in
vain. ΤΟΣ occurs only in this place ;
but it is evident from its being in ap-
position with m2, and from the
meaning of yYi272, Jer. vi. 16, that it is
derived from the Hiph. of 2x, ¢o give

rest, quiet, ἕο. Comp. the Arab. ey
bené vertit, beneque cessit illi ; ere

reditus, which in the Koran is used of
the happiness of true believers in

a future world. Thus Sur. x. 4, ἀαὶ

Les phe mpe: The final 8 in N28 js

H H

240

ISAIAH.

[CHAP, XXVIII.

13 Verily, the word of Jehovah shall be to them,
Precept by precept, precept by precept ;

Rule by rule, rule by rule;
A little here, a little there:

That they may continue to fall backwards, and be broken,

And be snared, and taken.
14

Wherefore, hear ye the word of Jehovah,

Ye scoffers, who rule this people that are in Jerusalem,

15 Because ye say:

We have made a contract with death,
And with Sheol we have made an agreement: »
The overflowing scourge, when it passeth through, shall not

reach us,

For we have made falsehood our refuge,
And in deceit have we hid ourselves.
16 Nevertheless, thus saith the Lord Jehovah :

otiant, as in Josh. x. 24, 907. This
orthography is prevalent in Arabic, as

Vy poe |,Las. A great number of Co-

dices, however, and the Soncin. edi-
tions, omit the x.

13, A repetition of the cavilling lan-
guage of the drunkards, ver. 10. The
meaning is: They may despise the in-
struction given to them as puerile,
and altogether below the mark to
which they imagine they have at-
tained, but they shall have no other;
and being thus left to act according to
the dictates of their own supposed
wisdom, they must utterly perish.
Comp. 1 Pet, ii. 8. There is a marked
gradation in the verbs employed in
the latter part of the verse, and their
accumulation is designed to express
the certainty and grievous nature of
the predicted ruin. 72 is here used in
a frequentative sense.

14, 15. A further description of the
character of the impious rulers of the
Jews. ΠΕΣ ἌΝ, men of scorn, for D>,
scorners. Syram.and Theod. χλευασταί.
R. y?, ¢o stammer, speak barbarously,

deride, mock. Comp. the Arab. (oY;

anigmatice locutus est. Conj. TV. con-
vertit, contortus, convolutus fuit. 202
mh DY, Jarchi, Abenezra, Houbigant,

Ἐπ

"

Lowth, Boothroyd, Luzzatto, and
Scholz, render: “Ye of this people
who mock,” or “use sententious say-
ings;” but such interpretation is
quite forced, as the construct state
shews. Comp. chap. lii. 5; Jer. xxx.
21. mh, LXX. συνθήκη; Targ. x20;
Vulg. pactum. The word properly sig-
nifies vision, like n3n, which stands for
it, ver. 18. The form is participial,
from 1m, Zo see, have a divine oracle, &c.
see chap. i. 1,and is synonymous with
™:; both conveying the idea of a reli-
gious sanction, inviolability, &. Comp.

however, the Arab. djs, dissensit, et

contra, consensit, concordavit ; Con}. VI.
Jedus pepiygerunt. Comp. 017 as simi-
larly used, ver. 18. For oY, or, as it
is properly given in the Keri, iv, see
chap. x. 26. "NW Οὐδ᾽ is obviously a
paronomasia, which confirms the read-
ing of the Keri. The following 129, on
the contrary, (read 729,) is to be pre-
ferred to 732°, prescribed by the Keri.
The language is that of daring and
reckless spirits.

16. Before proceeding to denounce
the Divine judgments against these
mockers, and all unbelievers who
might adhere to them as their leaders,
the prophet, in this verse, describes
the provision made by Jehovah for

CHAP, ΧΧΥΠΙ.]

ISATAH.

247

Behold, I will lay for a foundation in Zion a stone,
A tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a solid foundation ;

the indestructible security of his
people. The more forcibly to point
out this security, he introduces the
image of a large, firm, and noble
foundation-stone, which at once gives
support and union to the building
erected upon it. That this foundation
is exclusively, and not merely sensu
sublimiori, Christ our Saviour, no one
can call in question, who allows the
inspired authority of the N. T. For
the passage is not only quoted, in part,
with such direct application, Rom. ix.
33, x. 11, but in its entire form, with
one or two slight verbal discrepancies,
1 Pet. 11. 6, with the same primary and
immediate reference. That the earlier
Jews applied it, in like manner, to the
Messiah, appears from the fact, that
though the word yw is not μοῖρ in
the text of the Targum, which reads,
PON) Waa PD YN APP PED 22 NP NT,
“ Behold, I constitute in Zion a king, a
king strong, mighty, and terrible,” it
must originally have occupied a place
after the first 7272. This appears, first,
from the quotation made of this text
from the Targum, by Raymund Mar-
tini, in his Pugio Fidei, Pars II. chap.
v. p. 342. Edit. Carpzov. It is true,
the word is there written ™wnn, and
not xm@™owd; but this seems a mere
inadvertence, which has arisen from
the combination mwnn 7 being so
common in Jewish writings. Second-
ly, from the proneness of this Tar-
gumist to introduce the term, or its
equivalent, into all the passages in
which he speaks of the promised
Deliverer asa king. See chap. ix. 6,
ΣΙ ΧΕ ΟΣ xxvii. 5. ‘That Solo-
mon Jarchi found the word ih the
version appears from his exposition of
the passage: °N7oyM 1259 AM AND 729
Ta AN PMA Pn, “Tt is already fixed
and determined before me, and I have
constituted King Messiah a tried stone,
&c.” Gesenius, and a few other inter-
preters, after the Rabbins, suppose
Hezekiah to be meant,—an interpre-
tation which was already broached,
most likely by the Jews, in the time
of Theodoret, who gives his opinion

of it thus: ᾿Ανοίας ἐσχάτης εἶναι νομίζω
τὸ ταύτην τῷ ᾿Εζεκίᾳ προσαρμόζειν τὴν
προφητείαν, “ I deem it the greatest folly
to apply this prophecy to Hezekiah ;”
and then goes on to shew, that, as it
would be perfectly repugnant to the
doctrine of Scripture, to require any
to put confidence in man, no one can
possibly be intended but 6 δεσπότης
Χριστὸς, the Lord Christ. Rosenmiller
acknowledges that the predicates here
exhibited are majora et augustiora, than
to admit of being applied to an earthly
prince ; and even Hitzig scouts the
idea of Hezekiah being in any sense
intended. The introduction of an
abrupt but direct prophecy of the
Messiah, into the midst of a discourse
respecting the judgments with which
his nation was to be visited, is quite
in the style of Isaiah. See chap. iv.
2, vii. 14, ix. 1—6, xi.1. It served to
assure the faithful, that, notwithstand-
ing the most threatening calamities,
the house of David, from which the
Messiah was to spring, should not be
destroyed. δ᾽ 2217, Gesenius, Rosen-
miller, and others, consider to be
elliptical for 15) 1x x72, Lam he
who hath laid, &c.; and appeal to the

analogy of the Arab. as, ὃ] ee Lal,

it is only I that rose, in which the first
person is combined with the third.
There can be no doubt, however, that,
according to the uniform usage of the
Hebrew, the punctuation should be
πρὸ ; the participle always following "237,
but the third person never. Gesenius
seems to have been sensible of this,
for in his Lexicons he only adduces
the present passage in proof of a
finite verb following the suffix of the
interjection. "PY 235, chap. xxix. 14,
xxxviii. 5, he allows to be a participial
form for DY, and only objects to 10’ on
the ground that it would give a future
signification to the word, which he is
unwilling to admit. All the ancient
versions, however, translate the verb in
the future, which I have not scrupled
to do, partly on their authority,
which, in such cases, is at least equal

248

ἸΒΑΙΑΗ.

[CHAP. XXVIII.

He that believeth shall not make haste.
17 But I will make judgment a line,

to that of the punctators; but chiefly
in conformity with the grammatical
law allowed by Gesenius.—j28 is here
equivalent to ὋΣ, a rock, or large stone.
Both words are applied metaphorically
to God, as the refuge and support of
his people. Comp. Matt. xvi. 18;
Ps. exvili. 22; in which places the

Syr. has [929 as in the present text.

172 occurs only here as a noun, but it
is used in Pual with the same points,
Ezek. xxi. 18 (Eng. 13). The verb pro-
perly signifies fo try metals, and is thus
synonymous with Pz; but it is also
used for trying, or examining in any way.
The idea conveyed in this place, is
that of adaptation, or fitness, to answer
the proposed end: large, compact, strong;
ΡΠ, as the Targ. gives it. The stone
is itself the subject of trial or proof ;
so that the notion of a touch-stone,
which some have attempted to intro-
duce into the text, is altogether ex-
cluded. The words, 151 191 ΠῚ 728,
are literally, a@ corner-stone of precious-
ness of ὦ well-founded, i. 6. solid, founda-
tion; and the meaning is, a costly
corner-stone firmly laid as a founda-
tion. 138, az angle or corner, from 738,

to turn; ἃ turning point. Arab. a,

dus, extremum temporis, pars extremi-

tasve seculi. It signifies the stone laid
at the point where the two sides of a
building meet. LXX. ἀκρογωνιαῖον.
The term is used Ps. exviii. 22, where
m5 Ux should be rendered, the princi-
pal corner-stone. Comp. Zech. iv. 7,
MON Ἰ2 τ, the principal stone. In both
these passages the reference is not to
the summit or completion of the
edifice, but to its foundation, 7. ὁ. the
Messiah :— ὄντος ἀκρογωνιαίου αὐτοῦ
᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ, Eph. 11. 20. ΠΡ» is not
in the absolute state, as Kimchi would
have it, but forms, in construction
with the following 709, a genitive of
object. It otherwise qualifies 725, ex-
pressing its intrinsic excellence and
value. The Hebrews use ni? 0228 to
denote not merely gems or precious
stones, but also marble and other

valuable stones of a large size em-
ployed in magnificent . buildings, 1
Kings v. 31, (ver. 17, Eng. Ver.)
2 Chron. iii. 6. For the sake of
greater solidity, stones of immense
size were anciently employed as the
foundations of temples. Parsons, de-
scribing the ruins of one which he
visited at Baalbec, mentions a corner-
stone that he found, on measuring, to
be twenty-eight feet long, six feet six
inches wide, and four feet six inches
thick. (Letters from Palestine, p.73.)
The repetition, 121 15%, is emphatic,
and is well expressed by Zwinglius :
ad firmissimum fundamentum. For simi-
lar instances of substantives followed
by verbs of the same root in the
Pual participle, see Exod. xii. 9 ; Ps.
lxiv. 7; Prov. xxx. 24. wm), Aq.,
Symm.,and Theod., render, οὐ σπεύσει;
Vulg. non festinet ; LUXX. οὐ μὴ καταισ-
χυνθῇ, which is quoted literally, 1 Pet.
u. 6, and with the trifling variation,
οὐ καταισχυνθήσεται, Rom. ix. 333
Targ. por xd, shall not be moved ;

Syr. Saad 2 ii, shall not be afraid.

The verb ΟἿ primarily signifies ¢o
make haste, flee quickly; but, in its
secondary or derived senses, may in-
clude all the varieties of interpreta-
tion here given. Comp. the Arab.

a . . Sn . .
Url, concitavit circumveniens, ut in
retia ageret (feram.) V. erubuit. VII.

territus fugit. eile, res a qua abhor-

rent homines, cujusque pudet, Ure,
terrore perculsus fuit. ners] Ui
qui cito conficit opus. ‘The meaning is,
that those who believe the Divine de-
claration, and thus rest for safety on
the foundation here promised, shall
feel themselves so perfectly secure,
that they shall never have occasion to
suspect their confidence ; or, under
the impulse of fear and shame, to be-
take themselves with speed to another
refuge. It is a security which can
never fail.

17. We have in this and the verses

CHAP. XXVIII. |

ISAIAH.

249

And righteousness a plumb-line ;
And the hail shall sweep away the refuge of falsehood,
And the waters shall wash away the hiding-place.

18

Yea, your contract with death shall be annulled,

And your agreement with Sheol shall not stand ;
When the overflowing scourge shall pass through,
Ye shall be for him to trample upon.

19

As often as it passeth through, it shall take you away ;

For every morning it shall pass through ;

By day and by night;

And it shall be a terror only to hear the rumour of it.
20 For the bed is too short for one to stretch himself at length,

immediately following, in striking con-
trast with the safety of the righteous
just described, the miserable and
helpless condition of those who trust
in refuges of their own devising. God
threatens to adapt his righteous judg-
ments so exactly to the circumstances
of the impious Jews, that every way
of escape should be completely re-
moved. 7 occurs only here ; but,
from the connexion, as well as from

the signification of the Arab. shy

congregavit, et collegit rem, excitavit,
extirpavit, it is clearly equivalent to
ἮΝ, to gather violently, take away,
destroy. Comp. FDY, 7D, PD, all of
which have, in common, the idea of
scraping, sweeping together ; then that
of sweeping away ; hence 75D, a sweep-
ing storm, used of the whirlwind.

Comp. also 9", a shovel; Arab. ust

repositorium, into which things are
collected; and the Eth Φ ὦν:
which is, however, limited to the
removal or destruction of .any thing
by burning. Hail and inundations
are frequently used figuratively to
denote formidable enemies, or calami-
tous events. Chap. viii. 7, 8, xxxii.
2,19; Ezek. xiii. 11, 13.

18. 752, Arab. pe pe» to cover,

when applied to a covenant or con-
tract, properly signifies so to cover
the tablet, containing the terms of the
agreement, with wax, as completely

to obliterate the writing, and thus to
cancel and render it of no effect.
Symm. ἐξαλειφθήσεται. Comp. Colos.
ii. 14. Being placed, as the predicate,
before the subject, the verb may be
in the masculine gender. OD is
femin. because it follows the femin.
noun. See Ewald, § 567, and Mi-
chaelis’ Arab. Gram. § 55, 4. The
conjecture of Houbigant, of which
Secker and Lowth approve, that the
text originally read 75n, is without
foundation. The Targum, to which
they appeal, does not profess to give
the word, but merely its signification.
For m7, see on ver. 15. In using the
words D212) 1) on, the prophet drops
the figure, and describes in plain terms
the invading foe, and the destruction
which he should effect.

19. "7, compounded of %, plenty,

sufficiency. Arab. i 90, medicatus futt,
opem tulit ; ol » tacrassuit, multus

evasit ; and Ὁ, the preposition, is em-
ployed to denote correspondent fre-
quency : as often as, whenever. 7, only,
is to be connected with p2n, and not
with 723. Comp. Ps. xxxii. 6.

20. 2—2, here, and ver. 21, are cor-
relative, and causal. vv, 4o make long,
stretch out at length. Comp. the Arab.

ey protendit, spoken of camels
stretching out their necks ; duc] we

camels with long necks ; ie Gy

250

ISATAH.

[CHAP, XXVIII.

And the covering too narrow for one to wrap himself in.

21

For Jehovah shall rise up as in Mount Perazim,

He will be angry as in the valley of Gibeon ;
To perform his act, his strange act ;
And to execute his work, his unusual work.

Now, therefore, indulge not in scoffing,

Lest your bonds be strengthened ;
For of a determined devastation I have heard,
From the Lord Jehovah of Hosts, concerning all the land.

23 Give ear, and hear my voice ;

Attend, and hear my speech.

hasta longa ; Lene pits The

language of this verse is in all proba-
‘bility proverbial, and feelingly ex-
presses the insufficiency of the means
resorted to for defence and comfort.
21. The reference is to the histo-
rical facts narrated 2 Sam. v. 17—25 ;
1 Chron. xiv. 8—17 ; and the meaning
is, that the persons spoken of should
be treated as were the Philistines by
David. The coupling together of the
two places here specified, shews that
by i222 we are not to understand the
Gibeon mentioned Josh. x., but a place
of the same name, near the valley of
Rephaim. Instead of 533, Gibcon,
1 Chron. xiv. 16, we find in 2 Sam. v.
25, 22, Geba. As the word properly
signifies a fill, it came to be applied
to many of the elevated places in
Palestine. The strange and unusual
conduct ascribed to Jehovah, is his
not only punishing the Jews, instead
of punishing their enemies, but his
punishing them with ἃ severity

, longus.

which they had never before expe-.

rienced. Such the destruction of
Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar proved ;
and such, in a still more eminent
sense, was the character of its destruc-
tion by Titus. Contrary to the
common usage of the grammar, the
adjectives Ἢ and ΤΡῚΣ are placed before
their substantives, as chap. liii. 11,
“ay paz. The reason seems obviously
to be, to give a greater degree of
prominence to the ideas conveyed by
them, or to render them more em-
phatic..

22. The prophet directly addresses
the scoffers, 2°28, mentioned ver.
14, γε, the Hithpal. of y, has a
reflexive power, give not yourselves to
mockery, indulge not in scoffing. ΝΟ,
bond, is here used metaphorically of
the punishment inflicted on trans-
gressors. By continuing in their
wicked and profane courses, they in-
cur heavier guilt, and expose them-
selves to more fearful destruction.
To this destruction, declared in the
latter half of the verse to be deter-
mined with respect to the whole land,
they must inevitably be subject, if
they repent not. For 72772) 73, see
on chap. x. 23.

23. This verse is introductory to
the following beautiful agricultural
parable, in which the prophet teaches,
that, in his government of human
affairs, in his employment of means
for the improvement of mankind, and
especially in his appointment of pro-
vidential chastisements, Jehovah does
not act arbitrarily, or without discri-
mination ; but, on the contrary, the
methods which he employs are various,
in adaptation to the difference of per-
sons, times, and circumstances. As
the husbandman varies his treatment
of the soil, and allots to each species
of seed its proper place ; and, after the
harvest has been gathered in, uses
such instruments as are suitable for
separating the ditferent kinds of grain
from the straw and the chaff ; so God
takes different measures in his treat-
ment of men—assigning to them their
stations, furnishing them with the

CHAP. ΧΧΥΠΠ.

ISATAH.

24 Is the ploughman always ploughing in order to sow ?
Is he always opening and levelling his ground ?

25

When he hath made the surface of it even,

Doth he not scatter the dill, and cast abroad the cummin,

And set the wheat in rows,

The barley in the place marked out for it,

And the spelt in his border?
26
He instructeth him.

means of improvement, and exactly
adapting his judgments to their
various degrees of guilt. However
severe might be the punishment im-
pending over the Jewish people, it was
not greater than their sins deserved.
The immediate design of the parable
seems to have been to repel a tacit
objection of the scoffers, parallel to
that stated 2 Pet. iii. 4. “ Where is
the promise of his coming? for since
the fathers fell asleep, all things con-
tinue as they were from the beginning
of the creation.”

24. 07%, lit. all the day, an idiom
for always, continually. See Gen. vi.5 ;
Ps. 111. 3; Isa.lxv.5. 71 occurs only,
as here, in Piel,.but is obviously used
in the acceptation of levelling the
ground by harrowing. Comp.the Arab.

Conj. II.

rectum fecit ; convenientem aptumque
reddidit. 71, a level tract, field, &c.
25. TP, a species of cummin, called
by the ancients, gith, melanthium, and
nigella, from the black colour of the
seed. It reaches the height of a cubit,
ει has leaves resembling those of a fennel
plant, and a blue, poppy-like flower.
It corresponds to our dil/, or black
cummin, and was used both for food
and medicine. Plin. lib. xix. cap. 8,
xx. cap. 17 ; Cels. Hierobot. Pars II.
p. 70. mv, Talm. mv, @ line, series,

dw, egualis, rectus fuit ;

row ; Arab. By» linea struesve una

lapidum in muro ; signifies the rows in
which Oriental husbandmen plant
wheat, millet, &c. instead of sowing
them, as with us. Thus Jerome, per
ordinem ; Zwinglius, serie sua; which
is preferable to the rendering, “ prin-

For his God teacheth him rightly ;

cipal,’ of our common version, and
“in due measure,” which is that of
Abenezra, Kimchi, Lowth, and others.
7202, used adverbially for 722 Dips, ἐμ
the place appointed, i.e. raarked out for
it. The root is not found in Heb. but
in Chald. j20 signifies fo designate,
mark, appoint ; Y2D, a mark, sign. Comp.
yo. It thus corresponds to 7H ; and
the meaning thus elicited suits the
connexion better than the interpre-
tation of the LXX., Aq., Theod.,
and Vulg., according to which, but
without other authority, the word
signifies mil/e¢t. Our translators have
rightly given the signification, but
improperly connect it with Mm, from
which it differs in gender. 903, spelt,
a kind of corn, so called from the shorn
or smooth appearance of its ears ; root
0D3, ¢o cut or poll the hair; LUXX., Aq.,
Theod., Symm., ζέα and ὄλυρα. The
suffix } in in?a3 has for its antecedent
wing, the husbandman; thus corre-
sponding to ΠΝ, ver. 24. The mean-
ing 1s, iz the border of his field. Hitzig,
less properly, refers the suffix to 720).
26. As Yo>8 is the nomin. to both
verbs, I have, in accordance with the
genius of our language, placed it be-
fore the former, and employed the
pronoun before the latter. In Hebrew
poetry the pronoun frequently occurs
first. The inference to be deduced
from the declaration here made, is
not expressed, but left to be drawn
by those who are addressed: If God
thus instructs the husbandman to
vary and adapt his processes accord-
ing to the exigency of circumstances,
much more may it be expected that
He himself will act with due dis-

_ crimination.

252

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XXIX.

27 For the dill is not threshed with the threshing-sledge ;
Nor is the wheel of the wain rolled over the cummin ;
But the dill is beaten out with a staff,

And the cummin with a flail.

28 Bread-corn must be bruised ;

For he will not always be threshing it ;
Nor drive the wheel of his waggon and his horses over it :

He will not bruise it utterly.
29

This also proceedeth from Jehovah of Hosts,

Whose plan is admirable, whose wisdom is great.

27, 28. We have here a description
of the different implements used in
threshing. The yn, in full, yoy 9,
chap. xli. 15, was a kind of sledge
drawn by two oxen, in the front of
which stood the driver on his knees,
or sat on a piece of wood fixed cross-
ways on the car. Under this machine
were rollers of wood, with sharp
stones, or pieces of iron, by which
the straw was cut in pieces, and the
grain separated from the ears. The
m2” was also a car, but differed from
the former by its having wheels in-
stead of rollers, which, being serrated,
produced the same effect, when drawn
over the corn. Besides oxen, both
horses and asses were employed in
drawing these instruments; and, as
appears from this passage, horses
were made to perform the operation
merely by treading out the grain, as
they still do in different parts of the
East. When the quantity was small,
or when more minute kinds of seed
were to be threshed out, a flail or
switch was used, with which it was
beat. See Judg. vi. 11; Ruth ii. 17.
on), dread, is used for the corn or
wheat of which it is made. Comp.

the Arab. seb, cibus, edulium, triti-

cum; Gr. oiros; and see chap. xxx.
23. wie is the infinitive of an ob-
solete verb, Ix, having the same sig-
nification with «7, Some, however,
consider it to be an infinitive form of
ΟῚ itself; the δὶ being prefixed, after
the manner of the Arabic, the analogy
of which is preserved in }i78. See
Gesenius. The Nun Epenthetic, ex-
pressed by the latter Dagesh in 3:77,
renders the word emphatic, and shews
that it is placed in antithesis with
piv, at the beginning of the verse.
The practical idea conveyed is, that
God mingles mercy with his judg-
ments. His design is not to crush
his people, but to render them fit
for becoming useful subjects of his
government; so that when these
judgments have answered their end,
they shall cease.

29. Corresponds to ver. 26, but
further contains the apodosis, vindi-
cating to Jehovah transcendent skill
and wisdom. His plans of operation
are wonderfully adapted to the ends
he has in view, and in all his pro-
ceedings the infinite superiority of
his understanding is displayed. 57
and 327 are Hiphil intransitives. Ὁ

---οο.-

CHAPTER XXIX.

The speedy enclosure of Jerusalem by the troops of Sennacherib, and the
suddenness of their destruction, form the subject with which the prophet
here commences, 1—8 ; the stupidity and hypocrisy of the Jews in that

CHAP, XXIX. |

ISAIAH.

253

and succeeding ages, and their corresponding punishment, are next
described, 9—16 ; and the rest of the chapter is occupied with a prediction
respecting the rejection of the Jews, and the vocation of the Gentiles:
concluding with a promise of the final conversion of God's ancient people.

1 Wo to Ariel, to Ariel,

The city which David besieged !

Add ye year to year ;
Let the festivals go round!

1. That by 2x, Ariel, Jerusalem is
meant, is agreed on all hands; but
there is considerable difference of
opinion in regard to the derivation
and meaning of the name. Aq. and
| Symm., λέων Θεοῦ ; which rendering
has been adopted by Dathe, Déder-
lein, Eichhorn, Gesenius, Maurer, and
Scholz, who consider it as designed to
denote the invincible character of the
Jewish metropolis. In support of
this interpretation an appeal is made
to 2 Sam. xxiii. 20, where two heroes
are called, 878 δ, ¢wo lions of God.
Comp. Ezra viii. 16. And Gesenius
adduces in illustration, g\I} yw), cle

Lion of God, which Mohammed sur-
named his uncle Hamzah; the name

of Ali, the son of Ali Taleb, Awl
NES al, the Victorious Lion of God ;
and the Persic, |X} Broke of similar

signification. But, as Jerusalem did
not, on the occasion here referred to,
sustain an actual siege, and thus give
proof of her invincibility, and was
afterwards destroyed by the Chalde-
ans and Romans, such an appellation
seems altogether inappropriate. 1,
therefore, prefer the rendering of the
Targ., according to which ‘x x has
here the same signification as sy,
Keri 99x, Ezek. xlii. 15, 16, viz. the
hearth or fire-place, i.e. altar of God,
on which the burnt sacrifices were
offered. This interpretation is ap-
proved by the Rabbins, Saad., Lapide,
Sanctius, Grotius, Michaelis, Lowth,
Rosenmiiller, Hensler, Jenour, and
Hitzig. The reference will then be

to Jerusalem as the centre of the
Jewish polity, where alone it was
lawful to sacrifice to Jehovah—a view
which is corroborated by the mention
made of the festivals in the latter
part of the verse. For the signifi-
cation of hearth, fire-place, attaching

to “8, comp. the Arab, δ}, focus, ca-

minus vel ignis, vel accensio ignis, ἧτο.

from \, IL. ix foco seu camino ac-
ay ἡ

cendit ignem. Comp. also chap. xxxi.
9. In 17727 ΠῚ is an ellipsis of Wx
and Wy; and m7? is an instance of
the construct state being formed with
Wx understood, as Job xviii. 21, Dip
ox YT ND. For the full form, see Lev.
iv. 33; Jer. xxii. 12, Aq., however,
renders 727 as a noun, πολίχνη παρεμ-
βλήσεως Δαυίδ ; regarding ΠῚ as the
usual construct. The LXX. and Vulg.
take 737 in its strictly hostile sense,
and are followed by most of the
modern interpreters; whereas the
Targ., Syr., and other versions, ex-
hibit that of dwelling as in a resi-
dence. The former seems fully borne
out by the use of the same verb in
ver. 3. Comp. 2 Sam. v. 6—8.—As
7 signifies not only a: feast, but also
a victim slain and offered on a festival
occasion ; and ἨΒ2 signifies fo cut, cut
of; our translators have supposed
the reference to be to the slaying of
sacrifices ; but as 422 nowhere occurs
as a sacrificial term, and 75pm is used
of the course or return of the seasons,
year, &c. 1 Sam. i. 20; Exod. xxxiv.
22; it is better to render, »»p7 027,
let the festivals go round ; especially as
the phrase is parallel with 720 ὃν 72.
The language is that of irony;

1 ἢ

254

2 Yet I will distress Ariel,

ISAIAH.

(CHAP. XXIX.

And there shall be mourning and sorrow ;
And it shall indeed be an Ariel to me.

3 I will even encamp against thee round about ;
And I will beset thee with posts,

And raise forts against thee.

4 Depressed, from the ground thou shalt speak,
And from the dust shall thy speech be low;

strongly intimating that the cere-
monial observances in which the Jews
engaged would not avert the Divine
judgments, while their hearts were
not right with God.

2. 727 is here used in the sense
of struitening or distressing by siege.
m4) TNA form a paronomasia. Comp.
Lam. 11. 5. The 3 in δ ΝΘ is the haph
veritatis, or intensive : Jerusalem shall
indeed be a place of sacrifice to me ;
for there I will slay the numerous
army of the king of Assyria. The
verse, therefore, contains a promise of
deliverance, as well as threatenings
of punishment; though the former
is indefinitely expressed, leaving it
to be clearly inferred from ver. 5.

3, 4. We have in these verses a
description of the surrounding army
of Sennacherib ; the preparations to
be made by the troops for an attack
on the city; and the dejection and
dismay with which the inhabitants
should be seized on perceiving them.
What the Assyrians did, Jehovah
vindicates to himself, as they were
only the instruments which he em-
ployed in punishing the Jews. Though
the history makes no mention of the
construction of any military appa-
ratus for attacking Jerusalem, yet,
as it is expressly stated that “the
king of Assyria sent Tartan, and Rab-
saris, and Rabshakeh, from Lachish,
to king Hezekiah, with a great host,
732 73, against Jerusalem,” 2 Kings
xvill. 17; Isa. xxxvi. 2; there cannot
be a doubt, that they occupied them-
selves with hostile demonstrations
while the negotiations were going
forward. There is, therefore, no ne-
cessity to depart from the threatened
attack of Sennacherib, and apply the
prophecy to the sieges effected by

Nebuchadnezzar and Titus, especially
as no intimation whatever is given of
the taking of the city, and its con-
sequences ; and, as the sudden and
complete destruction predicted vers.
5—8, was experienced by the Assy-
rians alone, chap. xxxvii. 36; and
neither by the Chaldzans nor the
Romans. The language of our Lord’s
prophecy, Luke xix. 43, is parallel
with that of Isaiah in the present
instance : but this is no reason why
both should be referred to the same
event. The metaphors are military,
and are descriptive of the measures
adopted in a regular siege. 7, Arab.

pe is properly the circle or line of |

advance, first of all drawn round the |
city to be blockaded, though here,
with 3, the term is used adverbially.
The reading 771, which Houbigant and
Lowth approve, is found only in two
MSS., and originally in two more ;
but has otherwise no suffrage but
that of the LXX., and is manifestly
an ancient correction from ver. 1.
22), from 323, ¢o place, station, denotes
the advanced joss, or columns of
pioneers ; and the nz were breast-
works, palisades, and other means of
defence, erected by the besieging
party for their protection, and from
behind which they annoyed the city.
For nz, six of Kennicott and De
Rossi’s MSS. read niz9; three more
have done so originally, and perhaps
two more; but the former is the
more appropriate word, in reference
to a besieging army. ‘Mz is from Vy,
to press, straiten, beset hostilely. For
2ix and ADS, see on chap. vill. 19.
Such should be the utter dejection of
the inhabitants, that they would be
able to give expression to their fears

CHAP. ΧΧΙΧ.]

ISATAH.

259

Thy voice shall even be as that of a spirit from the ground ;
And thy speech shall mutter from the dust.

5 But the multitude of thine enemies shall be as fine dust,
And the multitude of the terrible as the flitting chaff ;
It shall also take place suddenly, in a moment.

6 By Jehovah of Hosts himself thou shalt be visited,
With thunder and earthquake, and a loud voice ;

With storm and tempest,
And flames of devouring fire.

7 And as a dream, or a vision of the night,
Shall be the multitude of all the nations,

That fight against Ariel ;

Even all who fight against her and her ramparts ;

» And those who distress her.

8 It shall even be as when a hungry man dreameth, and behold!

he eateth ;

only in feeble and scarcely articulate
sounds, resembling those produced
by the necromancer or ventriloquist,
when personating with his voice the
spirit which he pretended to have
evoked. Comp. 2 Kings xix. 1—6 ;
Isa. xxxvii. 1—6; and see Lowth’s
note.

5. Lowth’s change of 7%, thine ene-
mies, into DN, the proud, is altogether
unwarranted. “is often used in the
sense of 12, an enemy. The LXX., to
whom he appeals, render it elsewhere,
as here, by ἀσεβὴς, and by ἐχθρὸς ;
foreigners being regarded in this light
by the Hebrews. ]127, a8 occurring
here and ver. 7, denotes the multitude
of warriors composing the 72) >,
referred to in the preceding note.
They are compared to the finest dust,
not to point out their number, but to
express the ease with which they
should be removed from their position.
This is further intimated in the fol-
lowing member of the parallelism, by
their being compared to the light
chaff driven away by the wind. np}
Dxn, which occurs in the inverse
order, Y02) ONNS, chap. xxx. 13, is de-
signed emphatically to mark the
suddenness with which the Assyrians
should be destroyed.

6. The nomin. to WA is the Assy-

rian foe, understood. ove, lit. from
with, conveys the idea of immediate
or miraculous interposition. See chap.
vii. 11, viii. 18. No positive inference
can be drawn from this verse respect-
ing the nature of the phenomena
connected with the destruction of the
army of Sennacherib—the language
being obviously charged with the
sublime imagery of prophetic poetry.
Comp. Ps. xi. 6; Isa. xxiv. 1, 18, 19,
20, xxx. 30, xxxiv. 8—10; and Lowth’s
ixth Lect. on Heb. Poetry.

7, 8. 08372, ὅσο. comprehend all
out of the different nations subject to
the king of Assyria, who composed the
besieging army. ΠΡῸΣ πεῖ", The
suffix forms the accusative, as in 737,
Ps. li. 6. The point of comparison
lies in the entire disappearance of the
phantasmata of a night vision. Thus
completely should every enemy dis-
appear before the morning.

8. The comparison is here amplified
by the prophet, in a manner which
Lowth justly characterises as elegant
and beautiful in the highest degree,
well wrought up, and perfectly suited
to the end proposed. Nothing could
have more aptly described the eager-
ness of the Assyrians to attack Jeru-
salem, and the complete disappoint-
ment of Sennacherib. The use of

250

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XXIX.

But he waketh, and his soul is empty!

Or, as when a thirsty man dreameth, and behold! he drinketh ;
But he waketh, and behold! he is faint, and his soul craveth!
Thus shall it be with the multitude of all the nations,

That fight against Mount Zion.

9 Delay, and wonder ;

Take your pleasure, and be blinded.
They are drunk, but not with wine ;
They stagger, but not with strong drink.
10 For Jehovah hath poured upon you a spirit of stupor,

the same imagery in part by Virgil,
En. xii. 908, and Lucret. iv. 1091, is
shewn by Lowth; but there is a pecu-
liar terseness and simplicity in the
language of the prophet, and the
triple repetition of the idiomatic 737,
behold! greatly increases the effect.
The corresponding 7x3 and 72 mark
the protasis and apodosis.

9. Isaiah now turns directly to the
unbelieving Jews, and reproves them
for their stupidity and false security.
The language is that of irony, to ex-
press which the more strongly the
verbs are put in the concessive and
declaratory Imperative. In all proba-
bility the prophet was induced thus
to complain of his countrymen by the
vacant stare and obstinacy discover-
able in the countenances of those
whom he had just addressed. As the
nation enjoyed profound peace, they
could give no credit to the predictions
of war; and therefore delayed repent-
ance, and indulged the more in sin.
wmarany, Imp. of mp tn7, the Hithpael
of 779, to which it must be referred,
though the verb is not used in Kal.
The derivation from 2m, which some
propose, cannot be sustained; the
Imper. in Hithpael of which being

wmany, Hab, i.5. Comp the Arab. &e,

Leo; abstine, desine, and kK 4.0» abstinuit,

destitit, which is employed in reference
to the stopping or delaying of camels,
horses, &c. Our idiomatic sfd//-I-
shall-I corresponds entirely to the
Hebrew, both in form and meaning,
but is not sufficiently dignified to be
adopted into the version, YYw, the

other verb employed, having two
different significations, according as it
occurs in the simple or the redupli-
cated conjugations, both are here
adopted with admirable effect. For
the signification of Kal and Hiphil,
see chap. vi. 10. In Pilp. and Hithpalp.
it has that of delight ; to cause delight ;
delight, indulge oneself in pleasure, &c.
See Ps. xciv. 19, cxix. 16, 47, 70; Isa.
xi. 8. For the peculiar use of the
Imperatives, see chap. viii. 9—Having
directly addressed his auditors, the
prophet proceeds, by the use of the
third person of the preterite, to point
them out to others, and describes
their spiritual stupor by comparing
them to persons in a state of intoxica-
tion. The more, however, to mark the
character of this stupor, he adds, dut
not with wine, &c. Comp. chap. li. 21,
where the phrase is used in a different
sense; and Aschylus, Eumen. 863,
ἀοίνοις ἐμμανεῖς θυμώμασι.

10. This stupefaction is ascribed to
the judicial will of God. In punish-
ment of their resistance of his truth,
he so ordered it in his providence,
that the Jews should become the sub-
jects of spiritual blindness and insen-
sibility. See on chap. vi. 10. ™ 93,
a less frequent form for 1 72v. Both
verbs convey the ideas of descent
from a higher source, and the copious-
ness of the supply. The signification
of mingling, mixing, given in the Vulg.,
and that of causing to drink, exhibited
in the LXX., are inappropriate, being
at variance with the wsus Jloquendt.

mom, from on, Arab. oy occlusit

portam vel hiatum; fotum occupavtt ;

CHAP. ΧΧΙΧ.]

ISAIAH.

257

And bound up your eyes, the prophets ;
And your heads, the seers, hath he covered.

11
book,

And the whole vision is become to you like the words of a sealed

Which is delivered to one acquainted with letters,
Saying, Read this, I pray thee ;
But he saith, I cannot, for it is sealed.

12 Or, the book is delivered to one unacquainted with letters,
Saying, Read this, I pray thee ;

But he saith, I am unacquainted with letters.

13 Wherefore Jehovah saith,

Since this people draw near to me with their mouth,

to throw into a profound sleep or stupor,
signifies a state of complete insensi-
bility, in which the senses are locked
up, and the functions proper to the
nervous system almost entirely sus-
pended. The term is here used figu-
ratively of the suspension of the use
of reason, judgment, &c. oxy, in Kal
and Piel, signifies to bind fast, make
firm; to bind up, shut completely, as the
eyes; Chal. DzY, clwusit; comp. Ddx,

ont; Arab. » prohibuit, servavit,

defendit ; IV. vineulo loroque constrinzit.
The words ΘΟ Στ ny, and O77, Koppe,
Eichhorn, Gesenius, Hitzig, and Mau-
rer, reject as a gloss; and Hahn, in
his 12mo ed. of the Heb. Bib., marks
them as doubtful. Zwinglius con-
siders them to be an epexegesis. If
genuine, they should be differently
pointed, and rendered as in the version.
According to the present division, nx
Dwi3y, should be 02:7 ny}, which is
the reading of ftzventy-three MSS. ; has
been originally in sz more, and pro-
bably in ¢wo or three besides; and is
found in the three earliest editions.
The LXX. and Syr. also express the
Vau. Not only should the Jewish
people be blinded, but their teachers
and rulers, to whom they naturally
looked for guidance, should also labour
under gross mental obscurity. Comp.
Mait. xv. 14.

11, 12. 7 nT, lit. the vision of the
whole, i.e. all that God has revealed by
his servants the prophets—the doc-
trines, predictions, promises, threaten-

ings, &c. These verses teach the
moral impossibility of those under-
standing Divine revelation whose
minds are under the dominion of sin.
There was nothing naturally impos-
sible in the cases referred to: the
person who was skilled in letters had
only to break open the seal, and he
who was ignorant would only have to
learn them; by the application of
these means, a knowledge of the
document would have been acquired.
The point of comparison lies in the
disinclination or aversion of the mind.
Comp. Dan. xii. 10 ; 2 Cor. iii. 14, 15,16;
John vii. 17. In 190", the article is pro-
perly omitted by the authors of the Keri.

13. Instead of "ΣΝ, very many of
Kennicott and De Rossi’s MSS. read
mm. It is also found in the four
oldest printed editions. }~ and 15},
ver. 14, are correlatives. According
to the Targ., which is supported by
the reading of seventeen MSS. and ¢en
printed editions, 32 is to be pointed
23, and rendered, “This people are
compelled,” i.e. they worship me in-
voluntarily ; but the common point-
ing and construction are preferable.
Supply ὯΝ, and comp. Exod. xxx. 20 ;
Jer. xxx. 21. For the form ‘nx onxy,
comp. ink ΠΡ, 2 Sam. iii, 11. The
verbal noun is used for the Infinitive.
Comp. chap. viii. 5. By their fear of
God is not meant true piety, but, as we
should say, their religion ; nor by “the
precepts of men” which they had
been taught are we to understand, as
Gesenius and some others insinuate,

258

ISAIAH.

And honour me with their lips,
But have far removed their heart from me,

And their fear of me is taught
14
Wonderfully and wondrously ;
Yea, the wisdom of their wise

by the precept of men:

Therefore [ will proceed to deal wonderfully with this people,

shall perish,

And the prudence of their prudent shall be hid.

15

Wo to them that deeply hide their purpose from Jehovah,

Whose deeds are in the dark, and that say,

Who seeth us? and, Who kno

16 O your perverseness !

the ritual precepts of the Mosaic law ;
but purely human doctrines, injunc-
tions, and rites, which their authors
and inventors imposed under the
pretext of Divine authority. That
such existed in the days of Isaiah,
there can be no doubt ; and as, from
the very nature of the case, they
must have accumulated from age
to age, till they were swelled to
the awful amount which they had
reached in the time of our Lord, the
language is strikingly descriptive of
the character of the great body of
the nation during the whole of that
period. On this principle we are
warranted in interpreting literally the
words of Christ, προεφήτευσε περὶ
ὑμῶν Ἡσαΐας. Matt. xv. 7,8; Mark
vii. 6, 7. While the prophet rebuked
his contemporaries, his inspired decla-
rations, recorded in the sacred volume,
served as a standing rebuke of the
evil, and bore preeminently on its
fullest development in the religion of
the Scribes and Pharisees. The dis-
crepancies existing between the Heb.
text, and the Greek of the LXX. and
the N. T. are trifling, and do not in
the least affect the sense of the
passage. Mistaking 7m) for wm), the
LXX. have translated it μάτην δὲ.
mya and m2, though singular, have
been taken as collectives, and so ren-
dered ἐντάλματα and Sidageuhees

14, APY is a defective punctuation
of the participle PY. See chap. xxxviii.

5, and note on chap. xxviii. 16. °?57,
ἐπ and 28, furnish a marked in-
stance of the varied repetition of a
word for the sake of energy and effect.

weth us ?

See on chap. xxii. 17. The verse con-
tains a special prediction of the awful
judgment that God would inflict upon
the nation by means of the infatuation
of their teachers, which the apostle
shews to have received its fulfilment
in his day, 1 Cor.i.19. So blinded
were they, and so completely did they
blind the people, that by their re-
jection of the true Messiah, and their
instigating opposition to the Roman
government, they brought about the
destruction of Jerusalem, and the
final dispersion of the nation. Most
commentators, indeed, find only an
accommodation of the prophecy in
this quotation; but its position, in
the present connexion, between the
description of the Jewish religion-
ists in the days of our Lord, ver.
13, and a prediction of the rejection
of the Jews, and the calling of the
Gentiles, ver. 17, proves that Isaiah
and Paul had the same persons in view.
The silly and puerile character of Jew-
ish or Rabbinical learning, during a
period of eighteen centuries, affords a
convincing, though melancholy proof of
the Divine inspiration of the prophet.

15. An exact portraiture of the dis-
guise and hypocrisy of the Pharisees
in the time of our Lord. See Matt.
xxiii, 13—33. pry is used adver-
bially, as in chap. vii. 11; Jer. xlix. 8,
30. The Ὁ in 7 is strictly pre-
positional, and not comparative, as
Lowth renders it.

16. 02257. Gcolampadius, perversitas
vestra ; Zwinglius, vestra presumptro.
O the satan of your depraved and per-
verse disposition! What madness to

[CHAP. XXIX.

-ς

CHAP. XXIX.]

ISAIAH.

259

Shall the potter be regarded as the clay ?
Shall the thing made say of its maker, He made me not ?
Or the thing formed say of its former, He is unskilful ?

17

Is it not yet a very little while,

And Lebanon shall be converted into a fruitful field,
And the fruitful field be deemed a forest ?

18

For in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book,

And, freed from obscurity and darkness, the eyes of the blind

shall see.

imagine that you can divest yourselves
of responsibility to your Maker! The
points of similitude are the absolute
nothingness of the creature, and the
infinite skill and sovereignty of the
Creator. Paul employs the same
similitude, Rom. ix. 20, but for a
different purpose. Comp. Isa, xly. 9.
The word is the Kal Infin. used as
a noun. Comp. 777, Ps. li. 6. δὲ is
simply interrogative ; and its force is
carried forward so as to modify the
following 3, Js it so that, &c. ? or, asin
the translation, Shall the thing made,
&c.? Nothing could equal in absur-
dity, or in the perversion of every
principle of sound reason, the conduct
of the impenitent and unbelieving
Jews. Instead of p20, the LXX., Syr.,
Targ., Vulg., and one of De Rossi’s
MSS. originally read pin; but the
reading of the Textus Receptus is
preferable. Some would refer the
passage to the subversion of the
Jewish state ; but with less propriety,
though the conduct here described
was the cause of that subversion.

17. Because 7122) and 23 are here
contrasted, the LXX., Targ., Syr.,
Vulg., Cyril, Zwinglius, Forerius,
Brentius, Osiander, Piscator, Schmid.,
Lowth, Dathe, De Wette, Boothroyd,
Jenour, and others, render the latter
by Carmel, as if the mountain of that
name were meant. On comparing
this passage, however, with chap. xxxii.
15, it seems much more appropriate
to take it as an appellative in
the sense of garden or fruitful field.
Thus Kimchi, Luther, Gicolampadius,
Leo Juda, Michaelis, Rosenmiiller,
Gesenius, Hitzig, Scholz, Noyes, &c.
The points of comparison are not the
barrenness of Lebanon, taken as a

whole, and the fertility of a plain or
open country ; for a great proportion
of that mountain is exceedingly fertile,
abounding in rich valleys, extensive
and well-cultivated fields, productive
gardens, &c.; but the forest-district,
abounding in cedars, pines, cypresses,
and other species of trees. This is
evident from the antithesis in the
last clause of the verse, in which ™,
a forest, corresponds to Lebanon in the
former member of the parallelism.
The language is figurative, expressing
the great revolution to take place at
the appearance of the Messiah. The
Gentile world, which had produced
no fruits of righteousness, but re-
sembled the wild and uncultivated
regions of Lebanon, should abound in
moral fertility and beauty ; while the
Jewish church, which had formerly
been celebrated as the garden of the
Lord, should be reduced to a state of
nature, and become like a rudely
scattered forest. Comp. chap. xxxii.
15, lv. 13 ; and specially for the sub-
ject, Matt. xxi. 43 ; Rom. xi. 17—22.
18. 18D corresponds to mun, ver. 11.
The Ὁ in 78M kD denotes separa-
tion, not locality, “freed from obscu-
rity,” &c., i.e. no longer in such a state.
Most of the commentators are of opi-
nion, that the Jews described ver. 10,
are here referred to; but the imme-
diate context requires the words to be
applied to the Gentiles, who had not
been favoured with the light of reve-
lation; to whom the sacred Scriptures
should be delivered in their respective
languages ; and who, by the preaching
of the gospel, should be turned from
darkness to light, and from the power
of Satan unto God. See chap. xxxii,
3, xxxv. 5, xlii. 7, 16; Eph. iv. 17, 18.

200

19

ISAIAH,

(CHAP. XXIX.

The aftlicted also shall exceedingly rejoice in Jehovah ;

And the poor among men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.

20
The scoffer also is consumed ;

For the tyrannical is come to nothing ;

And all that watched for iniquity are cut off :

21

That condemned a man in his cause,

And laid snares for him that decided in the gate,
And turned aside the righteous without ground.

22
He that redeemed Abraham ;

Nevertheless, thus saith Jehovah to the house of Jacob,

Jacob shall not now be ashamed,
Nor shall his face now grow pale.

19. Comp. chap. lv. 12; Matt. v. 3,
xi. 5; James ii. 5. These words apply
principally to the Gentiles, though
they also include such of the natural
seed of Abraham as should submit
themselves to the righteousness of
God.

20, 21, contain a prediction of the
removal of those rulers and judges
who oppressed the people of God;
made a mock of true religion; and
exercised every species of falsehood
and injustice. Such, in a high degree,
were the Pharisees and Sadducees
towards the close of the Jewish polity ;
and on them signally was executed
the judgment here threatened. Ἢ
78, an unusual phrase, happily chosen
for the purpose of marking the atro-
cious character of those who ought
sedulously to have watched over the
best interests of the people, but were
awake only for evil. It applies speci-
ally to the members of the Sanhedrim.
721 is used in a forensic sense, as in
Exod. xviii. 16; and ΘΠ is equiva-
lent to Ywy. Some interpret the
words of seductive conversation ; and
others, in conformity with the ren-
dering of our common version, of
condemning a person for a merely
verbal fault; but the judicial sense is
supported by what follows. ‘wa m2
is descriptive of ὦ judge—the gate or
forum being the place where the in-
habitants of eastern cities met for
business, conversation, &c., and where
trials were held. Comp. Amos ν. 10;

Deut. xxii. 15, xxv. 7; Job v. 4; Prov.
xxii. 22. pip is from wip, of the same
signification with wp, fo lay snares.
win2, comp. wn ὅν, chap. lix. 4, where
it is synonymous with x, vanity,

falsehood, wickedness ; Arab. Li, 80007.8,

negligens fuit ; SF » vacuus ; cig, se
ws, vane res
et futiles; LUXX. ἐπ’ ἀδίκοις ; Targ.
pwr, in falsitate. It is here equivalent
to D7, without cause, undeservedly.

22. There is a perceptible pause at
the close of the preceding verse; and
the prophet is here charged to assure
the truly pious, who alone were pro-
perly entitled to the appellation of
“the house of Jacob,”—being the
spiritual children of Abraham,—that
the immediately impending calamity
should be averted. The repetition of
MY δ, vot now, is emphatic. Michaelis
needlessly stumbles at the phrase,
DMN ΠΝ 77, since this verb signifies
to preserve, as well as to redeem, and is
quite as applicable to Abraham as to
Jacob, Gen. xlviii. 16. 7), a ἅπαξ dey.
obviously signifying to be white, pallid,

vy

Chal. 17, Syr. 3Qae, Arab.

applicuit ad res vanas ;

&c., from ὙΠ

as 3)
> to be or become white. Secker and

Lowth suppose 15™ to have been the
original reading, being more commonly
used in connexion with wiz; the
LXX., however, have μεταβαλεῖ ; the

CHAP. XXX. |

ISAIAH.

261

23 But when his children see the work of my hands in their midst,

They shall hallow my name ;

Yea, they shall hallow the Holy One of Jacob,
And reverence the God of Israel.

24 Those also who erred in spirit shall know understanding ;
And those who were obstinate shall learn doctrine.

Targ. pam, and this Kimchi and Abul-
walid approve.

23. °2, for Ox 2, But when, ἕο. The
ἡ in ink refers to "P TwYD, and is
anticipative of it, as in the Aramaic.
vi? are the children of Jacob, the Jews,
and the nomin. to inX)3, 42973, iz the
midst of them, i.e. in the church, wor-
shipping the God of their fathers.
The work of God’s hands is the καινὴ
κτίσις, or New Testament church,
consisting for the most part of con-
verted Gentiles. It is here predicted
that the time would come when the

sight of so many worshippers of the
true God, from among those who had
formerly been ignorant of him, should
excite the natural posterity of Abra-
ham to give glory to his name. Comp.
Rom. xi. 11.

24. The Myr and O22 are the
blinded and refractory Jews, who had
so long refused to acknowledge the
Messiah, but who should at length
embrace the doctrines of his gospel.

For 21, comp. the Arab. wry substitit,

constitit, commoratus furt.

CHAPTER XXX.

This chapter is likewise connected with the invasion of Sennacherib, and was
evidently occasioned by attempts that were made to form an alliance with
Egypt in order to obtain the aid of that power against the Assyrians. Vers.
1—7 contain a description of these attempts, and their failure; which is
followed by a severe reproof of those who had originated them, with a
denunciation of the Babylonish captivity as the punishment of apostacy
from God, 8—17. The prophet then addresses himself to those who put
their confidence in Jehovah, and assures them of the restoration of the
Divine favour, 18—26; and concludes with a prediction of the overthrow of
the Assyrian army, couched in imagery of the boldest and most striking

character, 27—33.

1 Wo to the rebellious children, saith Jehovah,
Who execute a purpose, but not from me ;

1. Several commentators think re-
ference is here made to the conspiracy
of Hosea, king of Samaria, and the
embassy which he sent to So, king of

Egypt, 2 Kings xvii. 4 ; but it is more
probable that Isaiah has in view the
unbelieving portion of the Jews, resi-
dent partly in Jerusalem, and partly

K K

262

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XXX.

And pour out a libation, but not from my Spirit :—

Adding sin to sin.

2 Who set out to go down to Egypt,

But inquire not at my mouth ;

Fleeing to the protection of Pharaoh,
And taking refuge in the shadow of Egypt.

co

But the protection of Pharaoh shall become your shame,

And your refuge in the shadow of Egypt, your confusion.

4 For their princes are at Zoan,

And their ambassadors have reached Hanes.

or

They are each ashamed of a people that cannot profit them,

That are neither for help nor profit,

in the country, who, unknown to the
pious king Hezekiah, and in direct
violation of the command of God, had
undertaken to procure assistance from
Egypt. That such application was
known to Sennacherib is evident from
the words of Rabshakeh, chap. xxxvi.
6,9. nivy), is expletive of oD, the 2
before the Infinitives being used to
introduce the actions by which the
rebellious disposition was manifested.
See 1 Sam. xiv. 33; Ps. citi. 20. my πῶν
means not fo form, but to execute a
purpose. As this was to be done in
Egypt, the prophet scruples not to in-
troduce the party as pouring out a
libation—a pagan custom employed
on the conclusion of a treaty of alli-
ance between two nations ; hence the
name σπονδὴ given to such a league
by the Greeks. As 902 signifies both
to pour out, and to weave, hedge in, pro-
tect, some prefer the latter idea, which
is that adopted in our common version;
but the former is more appropriate,
and is that expressed in the LXX.,

> 2
ἐποιήσατε συνθήκας, and the Syr.,
mm ox ay

f2c01 Qs03. Before ὙΠῸ supply 7,
from the preceding. By 1, is here
meant, as frequently, the Spirit of
God speaking through his servants the
prophets. The refractory Jews had
not consulted these infallible interpre-
ters of the Divine will. This is fur-
ther explained in the following verse.
Comp. for M7» xt, Josh. ix. 14. Be-
fore mentioning the embassy that had
been sent to Egypt, the prophet, in

this verse, anticipates its fruitless
result, and directs his address point-
edly to those who had sent it. In
such prolepsis, of which several ex-
amples occur in Scripture, there is
much force.

4, For yw, Tanis, see chap. xix. 11.
As 037, instead of 037, is found in six
MSS., and has probably been in a
number more, and is the reading ex-
pressed in the LXX. and Syr., some
have supposed that the passage should
be rendered, “have reached it,” 7. 6.
Tanis, “¢o xo purpose ;°’ but the paral-
lelism absolutely requires the name of
a place, which the Targ. supplies, ren-
dering the word omETA, Zahpanhes, or
Daphne. This interpretation Cham-
pollion is inclined to adopt, regarding
Das merely an abbreviation; but the
place meant is in all probability Hines,

or FP nes, cNEC, ες ΗΟ, Ube,

of Edrisi, Heracleopolis, a large city of
Middle Egypt, and the capital of the
Heracleopolitan Nome. Gesenius and
Winer accede to the opinion of Vi-
tringa, that it is the city of ”Avvots,
mentioned by Herodotus, ii. 137. The
suffix Ὁ refers to the rebellious party,
understood.

5. wei, according to the points,
should be w21n, without 8, which is the
reading of eleven of Kennicott and
De Rossi's MSS.; has been in five
more originally ; two have it in the
margin ; and several note the δὶ as re-
dundant. The preposition ° marks
the foundation of the disappointment ;

CHAP. ΧΧΧ.]

ἸΞΑΙΔΗ.

263

But for a shame and also a reproach.
6 THE SENTENCE OF THE BEASTS OF THE SOUTH.
Through a land of distress and difficulty,
Whence come the lioness and the fierce lion,
The viper and the fiery flying serpent,
On the shoulders of young asses they carry their wealth,
And their treasures on the bunches of camels,
To a people that shall not profit them.
7 For vapour and emptiness shall be the help of Egypt.

or, aS we should say, its source. 33
has, in such connexion, all the force of
ΝΞ The latter, by emendation, is
the reading of four of Kennicott’s
MSS.

6, 7. That 222 nioma kw forms the
inscription to what immediately fol-
lows in these two verses, seems incon-
trovertible ; but that they were inser-
ted by a later hand, as Gesenius and
Hitzig assert, is highly improbable.
As the prophet was commanded, ver.
8, both to write the oracle on a tablet,
and inscribe it in a book, it is obvious
that the former, being for public ex-
hibition, must have had an inscription
prefixed to it at the time, than which
none could have been more appropriate
than that here given. The “ beasts of
the south” are not those mentioned
immediately after, which are merely
introduced for the purpose of describ-
ing the desert, but the “ young asses ”
and “camels,” on which the present
or subsidy was conveyed to Egypt.
133, south, may either mark their des-
tination, or the desert to the south of
Palestine, through which they passed
on their way thither. The former
seems the more appropriate. Geniti-
vus hic est objecti, sive cause _finalis.
Rosenm. Of the existence of the lion
in the deserts of Arabia, see Diod. Sic.
11. 20; Hasselquist’s Travels, p. 563.
ὉΠ is an enallage of number, instead
of 7292; just as D7, in the 7th ver.,
stands for '7; LXX., ἐκεῖθεν. For the
description of the desert, comp. Deut.
1.19, viii. 15; and for FpIva Mw, the
note on chap. xiv. 29. yay, Arab.

cl, vipera; from gla, iratus, spu-

mans; UXX. ἀσπίδες. For ony, a

number of MSS., and several printed
editions, support the Keri ΘΝ ; and
twenty-eight MSS., and seven others
corrected, together with an ancient
printed Bible, read o7>n, instead of
oro; LXX. τὸν πλοῦτον. For this
use of 07, as the suffix, instead of
Ὁ after a singular noun, see Ezek.
vii. 11. mw23 occurs only in this
place, and is of uncertain derivation.

The most probable is the Arab. Utes

supellex domestica vilior ; 1t being, as it
were, the furniture of the camel. That
the hunch, or hump, of that animal is
meant, there can be no doubt. It is
of the shape of a pyramid, and some-
times of such a size as to occupy at
its base nearly the entire back of the
animal. The words ni ἘΠ ΠῚ have
greatly perplexed interpreters. Those
who approve of our common render-
ing, Their strength is to sit still, consider
them as designed to teach that the
true strength and security of the
Jews consisted in the exercise of quiet
and patient confidence in God, assured
that he would deliver them in his own
way. To justify such rendering, how-
ever, the first two words must be joined,
D771, and comp. above in O77. But
against this construction of the pas-
sage there lie two objections. First,
the pronominal suffix could not with
propriety be referred to any antece-
dent, but O79, at the beginning of
the verse. Secondly, the noun 3
never oecurs with the acceptation,
strength, but always signifies pride, in-

solence, rage, from 34, Syr. a5,

tumultuatus est, to rage, act proudly, or
insolently. 3, Ps. xc. 10, means pride

264

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XXX.

Therefore I have called her, RAHAB THE INACTIVE.
8 Now come, write it on a tablet before them,

And inscribe it in a book;

That it may be for future days,

A testimony for ever.

9 For they are a rebellious people; lying children;
Children that will not hear the law of Jehovah.

10

Who say to the seers, See not;

And to those who have visions, Give us not right visions ;

Speak smooth things to us;
Give us delusive visions.
Turn aside from the way ;
Decline from the path ;

11

Cause to cease from our presence the Holy One of Israel.

12

Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel:

Since ye have rejected this word,
And trusted in oppression and perverseness ;
And staid yourselves upon them :

or doast, and not real strength. On the
other hand, that it is here used as the
poetical name of Egypt, seems most
natural. Comp. Ps. lxxxvil. 4, [xxxix.
10 (Hebr. 11); Isa. li.9. This name
appears to have been given to her by
the Hebrews, not in imitation of any
native Egyptian word, but in reference
to her insolent treatment of the people
of God. The prophet shews that
though, in her pride, she might blus-
ter and boast of her prowess, and pro-
mise to employ it in behalf of the
Jews, she would nevertheless remain
quietly at home, and leave them to
their fate. “ Fando et promittendo,
non agendo opemve ferendo.”’ Kocher.
The rendering of Déoderlein, Rahab
quiescens ; and that of Lowth, Rahab
the Inactive; express the sense, and
are approved in the main by more
recent translators, though they disap-
prove of the proposed alteration of
ni OF into NawaT, ΓΞ ΘΠ, or such like.
nt refers to Egypt as yx, ὦ country,
and ἘΠ᾿ to the Egyptians, as its inha-
bitants. 20 may either be the Kal
Infin. of 2%, ¢o sit, sit still, remain in
one’s place, or a segolate noun from
nM, to rest, cease from labour, be inactive.

Its abstract or indefinite form adds to
the force of the idea.

8. Gesenius, Hitzig, and Scholz, are
of opinion that the same action is here
commanded under different forms ;
but Rosenmiiller and Maurer justly
contend for two distinct acts—the in-
scription of the sentence on a tablet,
for public exhibition, and immediate
use ; and its insertion in a book, for a
perpetual testimony. O58, with them,
in their presence, Jefore them. Comp.
Gen. v. 24. For 192, for ever, read 7¥,
jor a testimony. Thus the Targ., Syr.,
and Vulg.; and the LXX. in some
MSS. Comp. Deut. xxxi. 19, 21, 26.

9—11. 1x, they say, i.e. practically,
or in effect. It is the wish of their
hearts. 4732 and nin are contraries.
The latter word is derived from 7 ;

Arab. is, decepit, to act falsely,

deceive. They delighted in falsehood,
and wished to be freed from every
restraint. Comp. 1 Kings xxii. 8;
Iliad, i. 106. ὙΠ and Mk are the way
or path of duty ; the course of life
acceptable to God; true religion.
Comp. chap. 11. 3, οὐ /req.

12. 12, the Niph. Part. of ἢ", fo

CHAP. XXX. ἢ

ISATAH.

265

13 Therefore this iniquity shall be to you,
Like a breach ready to fall, bulging out in a high wall,
Whose smash cometh suddenly, in an instant.

14 Its smash is like the smashing

of a potter’s vessel,

Which he breaketh in pieces, and spareth not ;

Among whose fragments there

is not found a sherd,

With which to take up fire from the hearth,

Or skim off water from a pool.
ite

For thus saith the Lord Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel:

By conversion and by quietness ye shall be saved,
In tranquillity and confidence shall be your strength ;

But ye would not:
16
Therefore ye shall flee:

But said, No! we will flee upon horses ;

And, Upon swift coursers will we ride ;
Therefore your pursuers shall be swift.

ΤΠ
At the menace of five shall ye

ἐδ

hend, turn aside. It is used substan-
tively to denote perverseness, apostacy.

13. “This iniquity,’ means the in-
fidelity of the Jews developed in the
language of the preceding verses, and
their application to Egypt for aid.
52) p28, a rupture in a wall, in conse-
quence of which it is on the point of
falling ; or, more properly, the piece
forming one side of the breach or rent.
As the Orientals most frequently
constructed their walls of clay, or soft
brick, dried in the sun, they are ex-
tremely liable to rend, and be washed
down by rain. Comp. Ps. lxi. 3. Hit-
zig fails in his attempt to make ΥΞ
signify atorrent. The following clause
is inserted per epangrthosin, more fully
to express the danger.

14, ™2v, the Masoretes point as a
verb, πλῷ, frangit eam; but the LXX.
and Targ. more properly read 713%, ifs
breach, as at the close of the preceding
verse. nmin3 is the Infin. of descrip-

tion. FT, Arab. dunt, demersus fuit;
IV. invenit puteum ; to remove the sur-
face, or upper part of any thing ; to
draw water by skimming tt, 80 as not to
take up any of the sand or mud at the

A thousand at the menace of one,

flee ;

bottom. The meaning is, that, in
punishment of their apostacy from
God, the Jews should, as it respected
their public affairs, experience a com-
plete overthrow—a calamity which
was inflicted when Jerusalem was de-
stroyed by Nebuchadnezzar.

15, 16. They had been called to re-
nounce their false confidence, and
make Jehovah the object of their
trust, waiting quietly for his deliver-
ing mercy, and finding their true
strength in such exercise; but they
refused to listen, were determined to
pursue their own plan, and reaped the
disastrous consequences. The riding
upon horses refers to the Egyptian
cavalry, which they expected would
be sent for their deliverance, and not
to ἱπποτυφία, of which Gesenius ex-
plains it. Comp. chap. xxxi. 1; Jer.
xlvi. 4. In Ὁ, 013, and pour, and %,
DP, are elegant paronomasias.

17. Gesenius thinks the conjecture
of Lowth probable, according to which
722) has been dropped out of the text;
but whatever apparent force there may
be in the supposition that the LXX.
mistook that word for 021, and so
rendered πολλοὶ, as also that there is

266

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. “XXX.

Till ye be left as a pole on the summit of a mountain
δ ᾽

Or as a banner upon a hill.

18 Nevertheless Jehovah will wait to show you favour,
And he will arise to be merciful to you;
For Jehovah is a God of justice:
Blessed are all they that wait for him.

Thou shalt not always weep ;

Surely, the people of Zion shall dwell in Jerusalem ;

He will surely show thee favour at the voice of thy ery ;
When he heareth it, he will answer thee.
20 ‘Though Jehovah give you the bread of distress, and the water

of affliction,

a designed imitation of Lev. xxvi. 8;
Deut. xxx. 30; I agree with Hitzig
and Scholz in the opinion that such a
supplement would disturb the con-
nexion of the words DAMNi7ON Ty DIN,
and weaken, rather’ than strengthen
the sense. “Quin tandem aliquando
suze sibi vie certum Vatem ire si-
nentes nostros errores corrigimus ?”
Kocher.

18. The last words of this verse
shew that it is not a continuation of
the threatening, but contains a pro-
mise of mercy. ΒΟ is, therefore, to
be taken in the strict sense of rec¢i-
tude, and not in that of punishment.
However severe might be the casti-
gation to which the Jews should be
subjected, it would not exceed the
bounds of justice. God would not
lay upon them more than was meet.
om, Houbigant, Lowth, and others,
alter into D)?, without sufficient autho-
rity. Equally unauthorized is the
attempt of Gesenius to elicit from
Dm the meaning of remaining on high,
not coming down to the help of his
people ; though he has the example
of Jarchi and Salomon ben Melech,
who render it pm, he will keep himself
at a distance. It is obviously parallel
with 72”, a verb which is never used
in the sense of forbearing to do any
thing, but always in that of waiting
for, desiring an opportunity, &e. The
construction also of both verbs with
the 5 of the Infinitives following,
indicates inclination towards the per-
formance of the actions which they

express. The point of the sentiment
lies in the peculiar use of 737; it
being always elsewhere employed in
reference to man and not to God.
Instead of the Jews being permitted
to wait for pity from Jehovah, he
would, in great condescension, wait
for them, that he might exercise that
pity. 0 is here used in the simple
acceptation of rising, as Ps. xxi. 14,
and is thus equivalent to 097, which is
frequently applied to the interposition
of God in behalf of his people.

From this verse to the 26th in-
clusive, we have a full and particular
prophecy relative to the blessings to
be enjoyed by the Jews at the termi-
nation of the captivity in Babylon.

19. The LXX. improperly supply
wip after Ov.—jr¥a2 OY stands for js OY ;
only the 1 expresses more strongly
the relation of the Jews to Zion, as
their native home. See on chap. xxi.
13, and comp. 1 Kings xvi. 24, and
2 Kings v. 23. The prophet views
them in a state of banishment, but
predicts their return. In im, the
vowels are transposed for Tn For
the same transposition, see Gen, xliii.
29.

20. The ) in 752) is not copulative,
but concessive. 0 has here retained
the form of the absolute, instead of
being put in the construct. Comp.
Ezek. xlvii. 4. The bread and water
of affliction, &c. are such small quan-
tities, as can with difficulty be ob-
tained in times of extreme distress.
Ὑπὸ, fo press, squeeze, oppress. Arab.

CHAM. 50x: |

ISATAH.

Yet thy teachers shall no longer hide themselves,
But thine eyes shall see thy teachers ;

21

And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying:

This is the way, walk ye in it:
When ye turn to the right, or to the left.

22
images ;

And ye shall treat as defiled the silver coverings of your graven

And the golden attire of your molten images ;
Thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth:
Thou shalt say to them: Begone!

23

Then he will give rain to thy seed,

With which thou shalt sow the ground ;
And the bread-corn, the produce of the ground, shall also be

rich and plenteous :

« In that day shall thy cattle feed in large pasturage.

ues Conj. II. ix angustias redegit,
pressit ; ᾿Ξ importunus pressit aliquem ;

joie , angusti@. *3, a ἅπαξ dey. but
obviously signifying fo cover, hide, &c.
Arab. passe custodivit rem, and in
Conjugations II. V. and VIII. cireun-

dedit, cinzit. Hence, 33, a wing; ον,
Feng » tutela, protectio. 'The Niph. is

to be taken not as a passive, but as
a reflexive ; and indicates that the
Jewish teachers would no longer hide
themselves, or seek protection in
secret from their persecutors, but
discharge the duties of their office
publicly without molestation, in their
own land. 9H, “ thy teachers,” Mun-
ster, Calvin, and Lowth, render, “the
timely rain:” a signification which
the word sometimes has, but which
ill accords with the connexion,—the
following verse shewing that instruc-
tion and not rain is meant. Comp.
Ps. lxxiv.9. Four or five MSS. read
ΤΠ ; evidently by correction, with
a view to make the word agree with
the singular of the verb.

21. Their teachers were to be before
them; but when they declined from
the right way, their backs would be

turned to them, consequently, the
warning voice would be heard behind
them. The first and last clauses of
the verse closely cohere. ἸΌΝ stands
for 17"; the & being used for the ’,
just as, on the contrary, the Syriac

~ 9
has ewan though derived from
Ν

sc],

22, xo, fo treat as polluted, by de-
stroying. See Deut. vii. 25 ; 2 Kings
Xxill. 8—16. 75x, properly an ephod,
or garment, the femin. of 28; but
here, as parallel with “5, it signifies
a covering or plating over the body of
an image. It was commonly of silver
or gold; hence the περίχρυσα and
περιάργυρα, mentioned in the Epist.
of Jeremiah, ver. 38. The bodies of
the images were frequently of no
value—consisting merely of stone or
wood ; but they were richly adorned
with vestments of the above metals.
The Ὁ in Oy refers to the gold and
silver platings before mentioned. The
Jews, convinced of the abominable
evil of idolatry, would cast away their
idols with feelings of utter disgust.

23—25. Promises of temporal pros-
perity after the return from Babylon.
Seasonable rain, plentiful crops, and
rich pasture, would every where
abound. yu, rain of seed, means

208

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XXX.

24 'The oxen also, and the young asses, that till the ground,

Shall eat salted provender,

Which has been winnowed with the shovel and the fan.

25

And upon every high mountain and every elevated hill,

Shall be rills and streams of water,
In the day of the great slaughter,

At the falling of the towers.
26

Then shall the light of the moon be as the light of the sun,

And the light of the sun shall be sevenfold,

As the light of seven days:

In the day when Jehovah bindeth up the breach of his people,
And healeth the wound of their stroke.

the rain necessary to make it grow.
2d) poI, two synonymes used for the
sake of intensity. Instead of #379,
forty-one MSS., originally six more,
the Sonc., Brix., and Complut. edi-
tions, and the Vulg. read 72372; but
the former may also be taken as a
singular. See Gesen. Heb. Gram. § 90,
9. 72, properly a lamb, as chap. xvi.
1, but here employed metonym. for
pasture in which lambs feed. Comp.
Ps. Ixv. 14. Root, 193, fo dance, frish.
Not only would there be abundance
of grass in the mountainous districts ;
but there would also be such plenty
of grain, as to admit of the cattle
being fed with it. por ™3, farrago
subacida, i.e. provender mixed up of
various kinds of grain, and sprinkled
with salt, so as to give it a higher
relish. Instead of salt, sour herbs
were sometimes used. Comp. the

Arab. (»5.5-» salsa et amara planta ;
Use» depastus fuit (camelus) amaram

et salsam plantam. Conj. IV. acidam
reddidit ; edendam dedit camelo plantam,

Use> The animals are so fond of

it, that the Arabs have a proverb:
“Sweet provender is the food of the
camels; salted provender their des-
sert.” ™2, a winnowing shovel or fan,
used in the East for separating the
chaff from the grain. The synony-
mous nM is derived from ™™, and
describes the instrument as exposing
the grain to the influence of the

wind. 07329, fowers, the Targ. under-
stands figuratively, 212), “the Great.”
Thus also Aquila, μεγαλυνομένους, and
Symm., μεγάλους, and rightly. See
chap. ii. 15. The king of Babylon
and his nobles are meant, who were
slain on the capture of that city by
Cyrus.

26. The prophet here finishes, by a
noble climax, his description of the
great prosperity restored to the Jews.
While every thing on the earth was
calculated to inspire them with joy,
the heavens above presented the most
exhilarating appearance. The light of
the moon admitted of comparison
with that of the sun; but as there
was no brighter luminary with which
to compare that of the latter, it is
multiplied in degree seven times, to
express its abundance. zh? is used,
as frequently, to denote prosperity
and joy. 72257 and m7, the poetical
names of the moon and the sun,
heighten the effect. The words, ὙΝ3
oT ny, are omitted in most copies
of the LXX. and in the Itala. On
this ground, and on that of an inter-
ruption of the rhythm, Lowth, Gesen-
ius, Hitzig, Rosenmiiller, and Scholz,
reject them as an explanatory gloss.
These reasons, however, do not war-
rant our expunging them from the
text. They are in all the Heb. MSS.,
and in all the other versions except
the Arabic, which slavishly follows
the LXX. The Hexap. Syriac reads :

{Sras pas [oo Ladcs> σιῤσιο2ο.

CHAP. XxXx.|

ISATAH.

269

27 Behold! the Name of Jehovah cometh from afar,
His anger burneth, and dense is the smoke ;
His lips are full of indignation,
And his tongue is like devouring fire.

His breath also is like an overflowing torrent,

That reacheth to the very neck ;
He will sift the nations in the sieve of vanity ;
And a bridle that leadeth astray shall be upon the cheeks of

the people.
29.

Ye shall have singing as in the night of celebrating the feast,

And joy of heart, like his who marcheth to the pipe,
Going to the mountain of Jehovah, to the Rock of Israel.

Nor can much stress be laid on the
rhythmical construction. Their in-
sertion is rather in the style of Isaiah
than otherwise.—The 120, breach, is
that described ver. 14.

27. Isaiah now returns to the As-
syrian invasion, and predicts the
awful catastrophe, historically de-
scribed chap. xxxvii. 36. Tim DW, Jeho-
vah himself interposing in a miraculous
manner ; DY, vame, being used to de-
note that by which any one is known
to be what he really is. Others con-
sider an illustrious display of the
Divine glory to be meant. Grotius:
“Deus omni laude dignissimus.”
Zwinglius : “ Nomen Domini pro ejus
Maiestate ac potentia capi, vulgare est
in scripturis.” ΡΙΤΥΘΌ, some take in a
temporal sense, long ago; but after
verbs of coming it always refers to
place. God is said to be at a distance
from persons, when he has withdrawn
from them the sensible tokens of
his favour. It was thus with the
Jews, at the period here described ;
but Jehovah would suddenly return
for their deliverance at the moment
of their extremity. “Nw, smoke, from
Nw, fo rise, gO up as flame, smoke, Kc.
Comp. Judges xx. 38, 40. The lan-
guage of this and the following verse
is highly anthropopathic. Comp. Ps.
XViii.

28, am war, shall divide to the
neck, i.e. reaching so high as to leave
only the head above the water, and
thus, in appearance, dividing it from
the body. The figure expresses ex-

treme danger. 72272 is a Chaldee
form of the Infinitive, with its future
signification, for 729). It seems pur-
posely chosen to correspond in sound
with the following 52. Comp. for,
the image, chap. xli. 16. By “the
sieve of vanity” is meant that which
would completely separate, scatter,
and so reduce to nothing. Yn 7D),
ὦ bit or bridle that causeth to wander ;
1.6. Which leads out of the road, and
draws into destruction. Comp. chap.
XXXVili. 29.

29. Great should be the exultation
of the Jews at the destruction of the
Assyrians. The prophet compares it
with that which they indulged in at
the celebration of the passover, and
that of the travelling companies
which came up to keep the annual
festivals at Jerusalem. 27 is used
here κατ᾽ ἐξοχὴν, like ἡ ἑορτὴ in the
N. T. of the paschal feast. This fes-
tival was celebrated af night, Exod.
xl. 42; and its celebration partly
consisted in songs commemorative of
delivering mercy, or the great Hailel,
comprising the exiiith and four fol-
lowing Psalms, Matt. xxvi. 30. For
the joy of those going up in caravans
to the holy city, and anticipating the
privileges to be there enjoyed, see Ps.
Ixxxiv. exxii. It would appear, from
the present text, that they employed
musical instruments to cheer them on
their way. For 23, three of the ear-
liest editions read %23,—a change by
no means unusual.

270

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XXX.

30 For Jehovah shall cause his glorious voice to be heard,
And make visible the descent of his arm,
With furious anger, and a flame of devouring fire,
A flood, a rushing storm, and hailstones.

31

Verily, by the voice of Jehovah shall Assyria be broken,

He shall smite him with the rod.

32

And every stroke of the appointed rod

Which Jehovah shall lay upon him,

Shall be accompanied with tabrets and harps ;

And with tumultuous battles shall he fight against him. .
33 For long ago hath Tophet been prepared ;

30. When no words or articulate
sounds are mentioned as accompany-
ing “the voice of Jehovah,” it signi-
fies thunder. See Ps. xxix. The phrase,
however, in this place is figurative.
For vit nt, comp, 2 mmm, Ps. xxxviil.
3. Both phrases express the coming
down and resting of Divine chastise-
ment or punishment on any one.
nm] may here most naturally be re-
ferred to the root, ΠΤ, signifying ¢o
descend : as occurring ver. 15, it is to
be derived from ™:, ¢o rest, remain
tranquil, as Od from md. As none of
the collated MSS. and πὸ printed
edition before that of Van der Hooght
reads Yx for 7X, it must be regarded as
a typographical error. See De Rossi.

31, 32. v2} and ΠΘῸ are combined
in the prophet’s usual style. The
nomin. to 72 is M7, not Wx, Comp.
chap. xxxvil. 36. 299, lit. pass, and
nearly in the acceptation of this
English term, as used to denote a
push, or thrust in fencing. I have
rendered it s¢roke,—this being what is
effected by causing a rod or staff to
pass on a person by way of punish-
ment. Wo ΠΡΌ, the rod of appoint-
ment, from o:, to found, establish,
ordain, means the chastisement which
God had purposed to inflict on the As-
syrians. Comp. Hab. i. 12. Lowth’s
change of 770%) into ™o%, correction,
is equally unwarranted and unneces-
sary. Jarchi, Vitringa, Hocheisel,
Rosenmiiller, and Jenour, suppose the
Assyrian power itself to be intended
by the staff here mentioned, on the
ground of its being so called, chap. x.

5, 15, 24; but the above construction
better suits the connexion.—The
tabrets and harps are those of the
Jews rejoicing at the discomfiture of
their enemy. Comp. ver. 29. nian
is in the plural, for the sake of in-
tensity. For 73, iz her, i.e. Assyria ;
the Keri, which reads 03, in them, i.e.
the Assyrians, is supported by the
textual lection of forty-four MSS.,
originally nineteen others, and pro-
bably a few more ; and by the Sonc.,
Brix., and Complut. Editions, the
Targ. and the Vulg. The 7 has most
probably arisen from a mistake in
reading the final Ὁ, 12 would otherwise
be the correct gender.

33. Sons was employed by the He-
brews, not merely to express yesterday,
strictly taken, but past time inde-
finitely. Here it is evidently ‘used of
a very ancient period, or eternity: the
date of the Divine purpose. Comp. χθὲς,
Heb. xiii. 8. LXX. πρὸ ἡμερῶν. Syr.

9 τ

τ Go. Tos. TH

Zwing. ab eterno. Comp. also the Arab.

* ve . .
es » mora. dels ,ensis antiquus, multo

tempore non politus. 2 occurs only
in this place, but obviously, from the
accompanying attributes, the same as
nen, Zophet ; the place in the valley
of the sons of Hinnom, on the south
side of Jerusalem, where the idolatrous
Jews sacrificed their children by burn-
ing them in honour of Moloch. It
was afterwards made the receptacle
of ordure and all manner of filth, in
order to render it an object of eternal

CHAP. XXXI.]

ISATAH.

271

It hath even been made ready for the king, deep and wide;
The pile thereof is fire and abundance of wood :
The breath of Jehovah, as a torrent of sulphur, shall kindle it.

abomination ; and fires were con-
stantly kept burning in it, to consume
what was thrown into it, and thereby
prevent putrefaction. From these
circumstances, 0373, Gr. Γέεννα, came
metaphorically to signify the place of
punishment in the eternal world. See
Matt. v. 22, xxiii. 15, 33. Buxtorf,
Lex. Chal. Rab. 395, 2623. Gesen.
Thesaur. iz voc. The latter author is
inclined to derive 7757 from the Persic,

_ pod , to kindle, burn, &c.; but neither

this etymology, nor that of )2n, to deat
a tabret or drum, seems so appro-
priate as the derivation which refers

both neh and mma to the Arab. 235,
Wuat, divit \a5 in aliquem, i.e. re-
pudiavit, detestatus fuit ; Ἰὼ) being an
adverb of detesting, abhorring, &c.

ow

Comp. also «1.9, sordes, squalor ;
rat) » spuit, expuit salivam; Eth.

TGA : thid. Chald. ἢν, ¢o spit, spit

with contempt. By Tophet, therefore,
is meant the place of detestation ; and,
figuratively, that of punishment. See
chap. Ixvi. 24; Dan. xii. 2. As to
the form, it is anomalous only so far
as the Kametz is concerned ; there
being several instances of feminine
nouns ending in Segol. The Keri, »7,
is found in a great number of MSS.
and several printed editions, and is
probably the original reading. ‘7%,
a pile or round heap of wood, from ¥7,

to move or be round. Arab. J); the

same. The pron. affix refers to Mnpn ;
and that in 72 to 7. The whole
passage furnishes one of the finest
specimens of figurative description to
be met with in the Bible; and the
vengeance taken on the impious king
of Assyria and his army, as here set
forth, is emblematical both of the
destruction. of Antichrist, as described
in the Apocalypse, and of the wicked
generally in the world to come.

CHAPTER ΧΧΧΙ.

The folly of the Jews in applying to Egypt for help, instead of confiding in
the Divine protection, 1—3; a gracious promise of deliverance and pro-
tection, 4, 5; a call to repentance and reformation, 6, 7; and another
specific prediction of the miraculous destruction of Sennacherib and his
army, 8, 9, form the subject-matter of the present chapter. It appears to
have been added in confirmation of that which precedes it.

1 Wo to them that go down to Egypt for help,

And rely upon horses ;

1. Comp. chap. xxx. 2, 16. That

breeding of horses, and their using

the Egyptians were noted at'a very them in chariots, appears from Gen.
early period for their attention to the xlvii. 17, 1. 9 ; Exod. ix. 3, xiv. 7, 9.

212

That trust in chariots, because

ISATAH.

(CHAP. XXXI.

they are many,

And on horsemen, because their number is great ;
But look not to the Holy One of Israel,

And resort not to Jehovah.

Yet He also is wise, and will bring calamity ;

For he will not recall his words,
But will arise against the house of evil doers,
And against the help of the workers of iniquity.

For the Egyptians are men, and not God;

And their horses flesh, and not spirit :
When Jehovah shall stretch forth his hand,

The helper shall stumble, and

the helped shall fall ;

Yea, they shall all of them perish together.

For thus saith Jehovah to me:

As the lion, with the young lion, growls over his prey,
When a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him ;
He is not terrified by their shout,

According to Diod. Sic. i. 45, the
whole region from Thebes to Mem-
phis was full of royal stalls ; and such
was the abundance of horses, that no
fewer than twenty thousand chariots,
each having two, were furnished by
them in times of war. In the reign
of Solomon, vast numbers both of
horses and chariots were procured at
great expense from Egypt, 1 Kings x.
26, 28,29; 2 Chron.i. 14—17. Comp.
liad, ix. 383.

2. This verse commences with the
language of irony, to meet the proud
boasting of the infidel party among
the Jews, chap. xxix. 14—16, and
that of the Egyptians, chap. xix. 11,
in whom they trusted. The words
vindicate to Jehovah the skill and
power adequate to inflict punishment
on both the contracting parties, to-
gether with veracity in carrying his
threatenings into execution. Comp.
Numb. xxiii. 19; 1 Sam. xv. 29. 13,
evil, in the sense of calamity, punish-
ment. The O'yy2 ma and PR YD are
synonymous, and designate the re-
bellious Jews. By 77, the Egyptians
are meant. The 1in is omitted in
upwards of fifty MSS., six printed
editions, and in the LXX., Vulg., and
+ Avab.

3. 8, lit. The Powerful One, from >x,
to be mighty, strong, is adopted, instead
of Dv>x, to render the antithesis the
more pointed. “God” and “man,”
“spirit” and “flesh,” are strikingly
contrasted with each other. The
contrast in the latter case is evidently
founded on the fact, that the body
without the soul is utterly powerless,
but animated by it as an energetic
principle, is capable of achieving
mighty deeds. The seat of human
strength is in the mind. In Wy and
ay is an elegant paronomasia. Both
participles are collectives. What had
been denounced in the latter part of
the previous verse is here more em-
phatically repeated. The destruction
of the confederates would be complete :
a prediction which was fulfilled when
Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judea and
Egypt.

4, 2 is used causatively. A sudden
and unexpected turn is given to the
message of the prophet. Though
Jehovah would punish the rebellious,
yet he would appear on behalf of
those who feared him, and for their
sakes would deliver Jerusalem. The
image of a lion, to represent the
power of God, is not unfrequent, Hos.
v. 14, xi. 10, xiii. 7, 8; Amos iu. 8;

CHAP. XXXI.]

ISAIAH.

273

Nor discouraged by their tumult :
So Jehovah of Hosts shall come down,
To fight for Mount Zion, and for her hill.

As birds covering their young,

So Jehovah of Hosts shall protect Jerusalem,

Protecting and delivering,
Sparing and rescuing.
Return ye to Him

From whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted.

Surely, in that day shall they treat with contempt,

Hach his idols of silver and his idols of gold,
Which your hands made to you for sin!
8 For the Assyrian shall fall by no human sword ;

Rev. v. 5. Between the imagery here
employed and that of Homer, Iliad,
ΧΙ]. 299, xviii. 161, there is a strict
coincidence. The vast army of the
Assyrians were as nothing in the
estimation of Jehovah. He viewed
unperturbed their attempt to seize
the locality which he had chosen as
his special residence.

5. Fv is here used in the sense of
covering, comp. HY; and not in that of
Jtying, as given in our common version,
which does not furnish a suitable point
of comparison. The image is taken
from the protection which birds afford
to their young, by throwing their wings
over them. Comp. Deut. xxxii. 11;
Matt. xxiii. 37. The Infinitives }i22 and
ΤῸ indicate continuous action, and
are used elliptically for the Infin. and
' Fut. combined. This accounts for the
Preterites 727 and 7 with the Vau
conversive, which Kocher, Rosen-
miller, and Gesenius, would point
>zo and ὌΠ, to make them corre-
spond to the other Infinitives. The
verb 708 is selected with special refer-
ence to the protection extended to
the Israelites in Egypt, when the
Lord mercifully interposed to prevent
the destroying angel from entering
their houses. It properly signifies to
pass over, and figuratively, to spare, as
here. Hence "02, the Passover, which
was instituted in commemoration of
the sparing mercy of Jehovah towards
his people. Josephus : ὑπερβασία:;
Philo : διαβατήρια ; Aquila: ὑπέρβασις ;

and Aquila, Symm., and Theod., in
the present passage, ὑπερβαίνων ; and
the Pacom. MS. περιβήσεται: : —all
which authorities go to invalidate the
reasoning of Lowth, who contends
that the verb here signifies, ¢o leap or
spring forward. The Bishop’s note is
otherwise ingenious; but his con-
struction of Exod. xii. 23 is quite un-
tenable, it being expressly stated that
it was Jehovah himself that should
pass through to smite the Egyptians,
as well as to spare the Hebrews. The
idea of a sudden leap or spring would
ill comport with the form of the verb
as used by Isaiah ; and when it does
occur in the sense of leaping, it has
always a reference to a halting, forced
springing, or limping, as if from a
wrench or dislocation. See 2 Sam. iv.
4; 1 Kings xviii. 21, 26.

6. An argument enforcing repent-
ance is drawn from the preceding pro-
mises of Divine interposition. Comp.
Rom. ii. 4. The guilt of the Israelites
was great; but on their turning to
God, they would meet with a gracious
reception.

7. This verse contains an assurance
that such conversion would take place ;
and that the Jews would bring forth
fruits meet forrepentance. ΝΠ stands
for xom, and denotes the object of
sin, 1.6. ΓΝ idol or idols. Comp.
Deut, ix. 18; Amos viii. 14.

8, 9. By ow Μὴ and Diy XN) is meant

Jehovah himself. See for this idiom,

on chap. x. 15. To prevent the repe-

214

ISAIAH.

[cHAP, XXXII.

The sword of Him who is not man shall devour him :
Yea, he shall flee before the sword,
And his choice warriors shall be tributary.

9 ΤῸ his rock also he shall pass through fear,
And his captains shall be dismayed at the standard,
Saith Jehovah, whose fire is in Zion,

And his furnace in Jerusalem.

tition of “man” in the translation, I
have been obliged to change the idiom
in the former instance. One of Kenni-
cott’s MSS., one of De Rossi’s at first
hand, and the Soncin. Edit. read δ
instead of 1); but though supported
by the LXX., Arab., and Vulg., and
approved by Déderlein, this reading is
inferior to that of the Textus Receptus.
According to the usus loquendi, 022 7
means ¢o become tributary, and not as
some would render, fo mel¢ away, con-
sume, though such is the signification
of Dop.—r1y’—iy9 does not mean ἔο
pass by or beyond his rock or fortress, as
Vitringa, Lowth, Gesenius, Boothroyd,
and Jenour, interpret; but ¢o pass on
to it. For this signification of Ἂν
governing an accusative, see chap. xvi.
8. Hitzig and Scholz take »%> in the

sense of military forces; but this
acceptation of the word is nowhere to
be met with, and otherwise contradicts
the fact of the case. Nor is D2 to be
rendered flight, as Lowth and Booth-
royd give it; but the constant accep-
tation, standard, is to be retained,—
that of Jehovah being intended. For
the concluding words, comp. chap.
xxix. 1, only there is here a special
reference to the sacrifice of the
Assyrian army, which Jehovah was
to consume.

These two verses very clearly pre-
dict the miraculous destruction of the
Assyrians before Jerusalem ; the servi-
tude to which such of the warriors as
survived should be reduced ; and the
flight of Sennacherib and his staff to
Nineveh. See chap. xxxvii, 36, 37.

Sa

CHAPTER XXXII.

This chapter contains a prophecy of the nature of Messiah’s reign ; and the
character and happy security of those who submit to him, 1—8; a de-
scription of the desolate condition of Judza during his reign, 9—14; and
intimations of a glorious change in the condition of the Jews, which should
result from the effusion of the Holy Spirit, 15—20.

1 BEHOLD, a king shall reign righteously,

1. The prophet, in his usual style,
makes a sudden transition from the
destruction of the impious power of
the Assyrians, predicted at the close
of the previous chapter, to the holy
and spiritual rule of Christ. Comp.

chap. ix. 4—7, x. xi. That this chap-
ter is a continuation of the foregoing
discourse is allowed by Déderlein,
Dathe, Hensler, Gesenius, Rosen-
miiller, and Hitzig. The prophecy
having been delivered on the eve of

CHAP. XXXII.]

And princes shall rule justly.

ISATAH.

275

2 Yea, a man shall be as a hiding-place from the wind,
And a shelter from the tempest ;
As rills of water‘in a dry region,
As the shade of a great rock in a weary land.
3 The eyes also of those that see shall not be obscured,
And the ears of those that hear shall attend.
4 And the heart of the rash shall discern knowledge,
And the tongue of the stammerers shall be prompt to speak

clearly.

Sennacherib’s invasion, and distinctly
referring to what was to take place
subsequent to the time of Hezekiah,
it cannot describe that monarch,
either exclusively, as the Rabbins, and
after them Grotius and others main-
tain, or Hezekiah primarily, and, in
a secondary sense, the Messiah, as
most commentators contend; but
must be interpreted of the latter
exclusively. 772 72 has its exact
parallel in 9 722; and py? and
eeu? correspond to MT! ΒΦ, Jer.
xxii. 5. Comp. Isa. ix. 6, x1.5; Zech.
ix. 9. The princes or rulers spoken of,
are the Apostles, who, as our Saviour
declares, were in the παλιγγενεσία, or
new state of things which took place
at the introduction of Christianity, to
“sit upon twelve thrones, judging the
twelve tribes of Israel,” Matt. xix. 28.
They alone, as inspired by the Holy
Ghost, were invested with infallible
authority under the king of Sion. }in
ow is better resolved by rendering
it, quantum ad, quod attinet ad, than by
regarding it as properly forming part
of the nominative. Comp. for a
similar usage, Josh. xxi. 20; Job. xvi.
21; Ps. xvi. 3, xvii. 4; and especially
Eccles. ix. 4. Some, however, after
Kimchi, think it redundant.

2. wx cannot, without violence to
the connexion, be taken distributively
of the rulers just mentioned, but must
be referred to the king who was to
rule in righteousness. It is used with
emphasis of the Messiah, as ποτ,
Zech. vi. 12. To interpret the sublime
imagery of this verse in application to
a mere human being would be quite
repugnant to the spirit of the sacred

writers, by whom Jehovah alone is
represented as the source of protection
and refreshment to his people, and all
trust in creatures solemnly inter-
dicted. To the weary traveller under
a vertical sun nothing can be more
gratifying than the shade of a huge
projecting rock, and the water of a
cooling stream; just as a place of
shelter is appreciated by him who is
exposed to the resistless violence of
a storm. Comp. the sazea umbra of
Virg., Georg. 11. 145, and the πετραίη
oxen of Hesiod, ii. 206.

3, 4. For the force of 77pm, see on
chap. vi. 10. The meaning of the
verses is, that the impediments to
spiritual perception and obedience
being removed, the subjects of Mes-
siah’s reign would be endowed with
true knowledge and right dispositions.
Even those who might seem to labour
under insuperable difficulties would
surmount them with ease. 0793,
rash, precipitate ; persons who are so
hasty, that they cannot take time to
acquire solid knowledge, and conse-
quently, are the dupes of deception
and error. λον, the same as 032;
such as speak in a stammering or bar-
barous manner. LXX. ψελλίζουσι.
Vulg. dalborum. Comp. the Arab.

e- , barbarus, crassus barbarus, re-
*

ligionem non profitens. The term is
here to be taken in a religious sense,
as designating those who, from their
ignorance of Divine things, cannot
speak of them intelligibly. Such, the
prophet declares, would, in the new
state of things, speak nin3, clearly, with
perspicuity, so as to be understood by

210

or

ISATAH.

[CHAP, XXXII.

The vile shall no more be called liberal,

Nor shall it be said of the miser, He is rich.
6 But the vile will utter what is vile,
And his heart will frame iniquity ;
Acting profanely, and uttering error respecting Jehovah ;
Leaving empty the soul of the hungry,
And suffering the drink of the thirsty to fail.
7 And as for the miser, his instruments are wicked ;
He plotteth mischievous devices ;
To destroy the poor with words of falsehood,
And the needy, when he speaketh what is right.
8 But the liberal deviseth liberal deeds,

all. Root mz, cog. My, to be bright,
v
ass amy

ee}
to thirst, be dry, shine; Arab. ran

Sol, et lua ejus ; oe , manifestus
ac evidens fuit; \x?, conspicua fuit.

sunny, parched, dry; Avram. ¢

Symm. τρανά. Vulg. clara.

5, 6. 922 is one of the strongest
words in Hebrew, expressive of utter
worthlessness of character :—aban-
doned, vile, shameful, reckless of the
regard both of God and man. In our
common version it is generally ren-
dered fool, and 7223, folly; but the
connexion often shews that such terms
are far below the force of the original.
See Job 11. 10; Ps. xiv. 1; Judges
xix. 23, 24, xx. 6; and the present
connexion. It denotes the want, not
of intellectual, but of moral qualities,
and the unchecked dominion of a de-
praved bias of heart. Instead of
indicating a mere defect, it involves
a settled and determined opposition
to all that is holy, a state of which
moral turpitude is the element. The
root properly signifies, 70 wither, become
flaccid, as leaves, flowers, Xe. ; hence,
by easy transfer, its moral acceptation.
For the paronomasia, 72) 522, comp.
1 Sam. xxv. 25. ἸῸΝ may iow 32, In
yorn, at the end of ver. 6, there is a
return from the use of the Infin. to
the direct form of the verb with which
the verse commences. See for 32 and
3, the following verses. viv is used

in its usual acceptation, wealthy, opu-
lent; from yr, tg. 1, Arab. ey
amplus fuit. NV. divitiis abundawit ;
dew, opulentia ; eyo dives, potens.

The signification, /iberal, is less apt,
as it is too much even for flattery to
give this epithet to the miser. A due
discrimination of character would be
made in the times of the Messiah, and
persons and things would be called by
their appropriate names. Comp. Mal.
iii. 18; Matt. xxiii. 13—33; Luke xii.
20, 21; Eph. v. 5.

7, 8. 3 is the same as YD in the
preceding verse, only it is slightly
changed to form a paronomasia with
ys) immediately following. Hitzig
derives it from 23, in Piel, to consume,
waste ; and renders it waster. Dodson :
prodigal. Gesenius and Winer, on the
authority of the Vulg., fraudulentus,
refer it to 521 as its root; but the
derivation is forced. It is more
natural to refer it to 3, to hold, con-
tain, retain, keep back. Comp. 8%,

Arab. JS » mensuravit, mensurando

dedit. us » tnstrumentum, quo mensura
“

definitur. Kimchi, availing himself of
this use of the cognate Arabic verb,
explains it of the parsimonious, who
measures out what he is compelled to
give in the most niggardly manner.
It forcibly describes the tenacious,
griping character of the miser. Co-
verdale: the covetous. As to form,

CHAP. XXXII. |

ISATAH.

211

And in liberal deeds he will persevere.
9 Ye women at ease! Arise, hear my voice ;
Ye confident daughters! give ear to my speech.
10 In little more than a year shall ye be disquieted, ye confident

ones !

For the vintage faileth ; the fruit-harvest cometh not.
11 Tremble, ye that are at ease; be alarmed, ye confident ones ;

Strip, make yourselves bare ;
Put a girdle on your loins.

comp. 21, from 27, 12 from 7, &c.
The 5 is merely an augment, as in
“in, 123, &c. 0% means the instru-
ments, measures, or means, by which
the avaricious seeks to increase his
pelf. These are not only declared to
be wicked, but instances of oppression
and injustice are adduced.—In ΠῚ2)12----
ni2’7) 272 is another of Isaiah’s favourite
paronomasias. The root, 373, signifies
to impel, incite ; in Hithp. to impel one-
self, to give willingly, liberally, &e.

Comp. the Arab. Weds, instigavit,
impulit ; \“—miSd, agilis et expeditus, et

egregius, pulcher fuit ; mS, Ingenuosus,

pulcher, generosus. Hence, 172 means
a princely, noble, liberal, character.
oy DP usually means ¢o rise against,
stand opposed, &c., but is here obviously
to be taken in the sense of continuing
or persevering in the noble deeds pre-

dicted. Comp. the Arab. ust “3:

intentus fuit re, perseveravit ; and Καλῶν
ἔργων προΐστασθαι, Tit. iii, 8, 14.
According to this and other descrip-
tions of the character of Messiah’s
subjects, they are distinguished by
a noble-minded liberality; contriving
and persevering in the execution of
enlarged schemes.of benevolence. See
especially Ps. cx. 3, where they are
described as n372 DY, a people of volun-
tarinesses, 1.6. readily devoting them-
selves and all that they have to the
service of their Divine Lord. For the
fulfilment, see Acts 11, 44, 45, iv. 32—
37; 2 Cor. viii. 1—4, ix. 2; Heb. vi.
10.

9, The prophet returns abruptly to

his own times, and addressing himself
toa company of careless females whom
he espies, takes occasion to predict the
disastrous events that would happen
to the nation to which they belonged,
and of which they might, in their
present posture, be considered the
representatives. Some interpreters,
after Theodoret, among whom Vitrin-
ga, are of opinion, that by Ὁ ὩΣ, ccties,
and not women, literally taken, are in-
tended; but the term is never so used
except in allegory, as Ezek. xvi. 28%,
properly ¢o enjoy quiet or rest; but
here, in a bad sense, to indulge in carnal
security. 'The same remark’ applies to
moa, Comp. chap. ii.16. The form
of address is that of Lamech to his
wives, Gen. iv. 23.

10. The phrase, ποῦ >Y 0D), is anom-
alous ; lit. days over a year. ‘The pre-
pos. is obviously used to convey the
idea of superaddition ; but whether
nm, days, are to be understood defi-
nitely, as signifying the longest com-
plement of days; viz. a year,—in
which case, the phrase would be
equivalent to ποῦν ποῦ, chap. xxix. 1;
or whether they are to be taken in an
indefinite sense, has been contested.

The Syr. {ASco., and the Arab. Leb],

some days, would seem to favour the
latter construction. In all probability,
the prophet indicates the near ap-
proach of the Assyrian invasion.

11. > is of *he mase. gender, as
are also the .ilowing Imperatives,
with 7 paragogic, because both it and
m2 occur before the nouns to which
they refer. See Ewald, § 567. ὉΔΦΒ is
very appropriately employed to denote
the removal of the splendid garments

M M

218

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XXXII.

12 They smite themselves on the breasts,
On account of the pleasant fields,
On account of the fruitful vine.

13

Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers ;

Yea, upon all the joyous houses in the exulting city.

14

For the palace shall be deserted ;

The wealth of the city shall be abandoned ;
Ophel and the watch-tower shall long be converted into dens ;
The joy of wild asses, the pasture of flocks ;

15 Till the Spirit be poured out upon us from above ;

in which the persons here addressed
were arrayed, in order that, in their
stead, they might put on sackcloth.
In 727 the substantive pv, sackcloth,
is understood. 7 is not from ἫΝ,
but from "WY, 7.¢g. TY, ¢o be, or make
oneself naked.

12. To give greater effect to his
language, the prophet, as frequently,
drops the personal form of address,
and assumes the descriptive style, by
adopting the Ben. participle. oO y
pd, icolampadius, Déderlein, Dathe,
Gesenius in his Translation, Hitzig,
Jenour, and Scholz, render: “They
mourn on account of the fields,”—
changing 078 into Oo, and maintain-
ing that ἼΒΌ is used not of the gesture,
but of the sound of mourning. They
also urge that >, following this verb,
always refers to the cause of the grief.
In his larger Lexicon, however, pub-
lished in 1838, Gesenius abandons
these positions, and renders: “ they
smite upon the breasts.” He is
followed by Maurer. Coverdale has :
Ye shall-knock upon your breasts. Thus
also the LXX. ἐπὶ τῶν μαστῶν κόπτεσθε:
the Targ. γ᾽ p71 "5, Vulg. super ubera

v yv
plangite ; and the Syr. eatiarZ “So

Ve
tr]. The primary signification of

2D is that of eating; and both its
sound and signification are retained
in the Gr. σφαδάζω, the Sanscrit,
sphud, sphut. Our own translators
appear to have understood by “the
teats,” the οὖθαρ ἀρούρης of Homer,
liad, ix. 141. Only one of De Rossi’s
MSS. reads 01%; but instead of the

foliowing "1, the reading 770 is found
in fourteen MSS., was originally in
seven more, and probably in another ;
is found in the Sone. Bib. and Proph.,
the Brix., and Kennicott’s, 253; the
LXX., Arab., Aquila, Symm., Theod.,
Syr., and Vulg.; and is in all proba-
bility the true reading—the plural of
mw being nity, not oY or OTD. It is,
nevertheless, used as a noun of multi-
tude. The nomin. to 0759 is not 0%,
women, ver. 9; but the Jews, under-
stood, who should live in after times,
while the following predictions were
being fulfilled.

13. Yaw YP, an instance of the con-
structio asyndeta, as in chap. xxvii. 4.
In this and the following verse, a pro-
spective view is given of the deserted
condition of Judzea, subsequent to the
destruction of Jerusalem by the Ro-
mans. Comp. chap. vii. 23, 24. 33,
imo, yes indeed. Before Mp, subaud. 3.

14, 5%, Ophel, properly a fill or
mound, but is specially used to denote
a fortified height, forming part of
Mount Sion on the east, near Moriah.
ὈΡΊ ΣΤΡ is here to be taken in a limited
sense, as intimating only along period,
as the use of τὸ in the following verse
shews.

15. Dyan MH ary mw. Till the
Spirit be poured out wpon us from above.
As the verb vy, in its different con-
jugations, signifies ¢o make bare, empty;
pour out fully or completely, it is obvious
the prophet cannot refer to any partial
communication of Divine influence at
the return from Babylon, but must
have in view some copious effusion of
the Spirit in connexion with the reign
of Christ foretold at the beginning of

CHAP, XXXII.]

ISAIAH.

279

Then shall the wilderness become a fruitful field,
And the fruitful field shall be esteemed a forest.

16

Then also shall justice dwell in the desert,

And righteousness shall inhabit the fruitful field.

17

And the effect of righteousness shall be peace,

And the result of righteousness shall be quiet and security for

ever.

For my people shall dwell in peaceful habitations,

In secure abodes, and tranquil resting-places :

19

But it shall hail at the falling of the forest ;

And the city shall be low in depression.

Happy ye that sow beside all waters ;

That send forth the foot of the ox and the ass.

the chapter. Most interpreters think
the same effusion is intended which is
spoken of by Joel, chap. ii. 28, which
we know took place on the day of Pen-
tecost, Acts 11. 16—21; but to this
application of the words it must be
objected, that the desolate state of the
Jewish affairs is predicted to last till
the effusion takes place ; whereas
prosperity was restored to the Jews
at the close of the captivity, 7.e. about
five centuries before the commence-
ment of the Christian dispensation.
I cannot, therefore, but interpret the
passage of a remarkable outpouring of
the Holy Spirit yet future, when the
great body of the Jewish nation (τὸ
πλήρωμα αὐτῶν, Rom. xi. 12) shall, in
consequence, be converted to God.
The 1 in ™7) marks the apodosis. For
the rest of the verse, see on chap.
ἜΣΙΧ: 17.

16—18. 72793, in that which had been
a desert: 72753, in that which has become
a fruitful field. This and the following
verse describe the spiritual and happy
results of the remarkable effusion of
the Holy Spirit, which had just been
predicted. 2 is here a collective
noun. In ὈΤΌΣ and nin, ver. 18,
there seems to be an allusion to ver.
9. What was only imaginary in the
case of the Jews living in Isaiah’s
time, would be experienced by them
in reality in that of the Messiah.

19, 20. In these verses are con-
trasted the destruction of the Jewish
polity, and the happiness of those
who should be engaged in propagating
the gospel throughout the world. By
the forest is meant the Jewish army
engaged in the defence of Jerusalem.
Comp. chap. x. 18, 19, 33, 34, where
the same image is used of the Assyrian
army. Hail isan image of Divine judg-
ments, and betokens their severity.
Comp. chap xxviii. 2,17; Rev. xi. 19.
For 173, Kennicott’s Cod. 30, reads 1,
but all the ancient versions follow the
received reading. In ΠΤ ΤῺ is a
paronomasia, as there also is in M5wa
%tn. Thecity here spoken of isneither
Nineveh nor Babylon, but Jerusalem,
mentioned ver. 13. For its depression,
comp. Matt. xxiv. 2. “Urbs ista ad
imum statum redigitur.” Dathe. The
figure, ver. 20, is taken from the
nomadic life ; and beautifully exhibits
the free and unrestrained exertions of
the apostles and other missionaries, in
sowing the seed of the kingdom in
every part of the world. 52) 7>% does
not refer to the employment of the
animals mentioned to tread the ground
preparatory to the planting of rice, as
Sir John Chardin and Lowth suppose,
but to setting them at liberty from
the rope with which they were tied.
by the foot.

280

ISAIAH.

[CHAP, XXXIII.

CHAPTER XXXITI.

The prophet, in this chapter, delivers his last prediction respecting the
Assyrians. He announces the retributive justice which they should ex-
perience at the hand of Jehovah, 1; whose gracious interposition he invokes,
2; anticipates the results of such interposition, 3—6 ; describes the state
of the country during the invasion of Sennacherib, 7—9 ; J ehovah’s actual
interference, and its consequences, 10—12 ; and depicts the alarm of the
wicked inhabitants of Jerusalem, with which he beautifully contrasts the
security and felicity of the righteous in the enjoyment of their religious
privileges, and their exemption from outward molestation, 13—24.

1 Wo to thee who spoilest, but hast not been spoiled ;.
And who plunderest, but others have not plundered thee :
When thou art done with spoiling, thou shalt be spoiled ;
When thou hast finished plundering, others shall plunder thee.
2 O Jehovah! have mercy upon us; in thee we trust ;

1, Sennacherib, as the representative
of the Assyrian monarchy, is here set
forth in the character of a ruthless
conqueror, who has sustained no re-
verses, but to whose career a limit is
set, and who is to be subdued in his
turn. Instead of 421723, upwards of
sixty MSS. and seven early editions,
read 12723, but the former alone
agrees with the connexion. 272,
apparently from an obsolete root, Dn
—such being the regular Hiph. Infin.
of verbs with ) for the middle radical ;
but evidently, from the connexion, of
the same signification with Dn, to
bring to an end, finish, complete. To
the same root may be referred Din,
Dyan, completeness. 573, the corre-
sponding Infin. is less easily accounted
for. Some derive it from 4%, or 79%,
to be wearied, exhausted, &e. Thus
Symm. ὅταν κοπιάσῃ ; Targ. sn, Saad.

pst] ; Vulg. futigatus, Lowth,
Hensler, Dathe, in edit. secund,

Boothroyd, and Noyes. On the other
hand, Secker, Doderlein, and Ge-
senius in Lex. Man., approve of the

conjecture of Cappellus, that instead
of 4132, we should read ¥7722—the 9
having been mistaken by some copyist
for 2. This latter construction might
seem to derive support from the com-
bination of On7 and 753, Dan. ix. 24;
but there is no necessity to abandon
the Hebrew interpreters, who derive
the word from 73, and consider it to
be a contracted form of the Hiph.
Infin. 779272, like 9193773—the 7 being
dropped, and compensation being made
by the Dagesh in the following letter.
m2, whence 0939, their acquisition, Job
xv. 29, has the signification of the

Arab. ων, med. Je, perfecit, ad finem

oo
perducit, consummavit ; Syr. fly, depre-

hendens, to reach an object, obtain, finish.
Thus Hitzig, Winer, and First.

2, oy, their arm, i.e. their help,
protection. See on chap. ix. 19. All
the MSS. and editions have the third
personal pronoun ; only the edition of
Venice, 1518, has in the margin 24
—a manifest emendation, as is that of
Houbigant, νῦν. The Syr. and Targ.

CHAP. XXXIII.|

ISATAH.

—Be their arm every morning :—

Yea, be thou our salvation in the time of distress.

281

3 At the sound of the noise the people flee ;
When thou arisest, the nations are dispersed.
4 And your spoil shall be gathered up,
Like the gathering of the devouring locust ;
As the running of the caterpillar-locust,

Men shall run upon it.

5 Jehovah is exalted; for he dwelleth on high ;
He filleth Zion with justice and righteousness.
6 He also shall be the stability of thy time;
A store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge:
The fear of Jehovah is his treasure.

have the first person plural ; but the
LXX., τὸ σπέρμα τῶν ἀπειθούντων, evi-
dently read the third. Τῇ, as there is
every reason to believe, the Ὁ pro-
ceeded from the pen of the prophet,
he is to be regarded, in this sentence,
as giving expression to his own in-
dividual desire for the Divine pro-
tection of his people. 0773), ἐμ refer-
ence to the mornings, i. e. every Morning
—that being the period when the
enemy might be expected to renew
the attack. Comp. the following
hemistich.

3. iam 4p being parallel with 7225,
the thunder accompanying the Divine
interposition is meant, and not any
tumult in the hostile army, though
the phrase otherwise denotes the
noise of a multitude.

4, An apostrophic address to the
Assyrians, in which the prophet
describes the effect of what he had
predicted in the preceding verse. The
enemy having either been destroyed
or made to flee, the inhabitants of
Jerusalem would eagerly run up and
down through the deserted camp, and
collect the spoils. The comparison to
the locusts is beautifully graphic.
Some, indeed, understand the prophet
to refer to the collection of the locusts
by the husbandman ; but the active
forms of ΡῈ and ppv shew that he has
in view the complete consumption of
vegetation, fruits, &c. by these insects,
Comp. Joel 1. 4, 11. 3—9, with New-

come’s Notes. Before 08 supply 3,
from the following. ppt, impersonally,
one, they, men, or the like.

5, 6. These verses are intimately
connected. The person addressed,
ver. 6, is Hezekiah. The nominative
to m7) is Jehovah, in the verse pre-
ceding. ΠΌΝΟΝ some render fuith ;
others fidelity ; but security, stability,
or such like, is preferable. Comp. the

Arab. ot! 5 wel, securitas, protectio :

from ; ᾿" fidit, nivus fuit, securus futt.

Instead of ΠὩν, thirty-four MSS., origin-
ally ten more, now one ; upwards of
thirty printed editions ; the Syr. and
Symm. read ΠΡ in the singular. For
the meaning of NY, ¢me, in such con-
nexion, see Ps, Ixxxi. 15 (Hebr.16). By
Jehovah’s being the stability of one’s
time is meant, his being the author of
the peaceful, settled, and prosperous
state of things, which, during any given
period, a person enjoys. ‘Df is used
in the sense both of s/rength, riches, and
store, storehouse, &c. Comp. the Arab.

=, magazine. Thesame sentiment
Σὰ

occurs, Job xxii. 25.—ninw, lit. salva-
tions, 1.6. complete deliverance. Sixteen
MSS., originally six, and now two,
substitute 7227 for m227. Several in-
stances, however, occur of the con-
struct being similarly used instead of
the absolute, as 7271 73, chap. xxxv. 2.

282 ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XXXII.

7 Behold their Ariel! They raise a cry without ;
The messengers of peace weep bitterly.

8 The highways are desolate ;
The traveller ceaseth ;

He hath broken the treaty ; the cities are despised ;

Man is held in no estimation.

9 The land mourneth ; it languisheth ;
Lebanon is put to shame; it withereth :

Sharon is like a desert ;

Bashan also, and Carmel cast off their leaves.

7. This and the two following verses
describe the alarm and distress of
Judea during the Assyrian invasion.
Even the inhabitants of the metropolis
should be in terror. That they are
intended by the term Ooxyx, I cannot
doubt. According to the punctuation,
indeed, it must be differently inter-
preted ; but this punctuation is so
perfectly anomalous, that, had it not
been for an early mis-construction of
the passage, it never could have ob-
tained. The Syr., Targ., Aquila, and
Symm. take it to be compounded of
the verb 78}, fo see, in Niph. ¢o appear,
and 02 for 099, ¢o them. To this deri-
vation videntes of the Vulg. is also to
bereferred. The LXX. likewise found
a verb in the word—only they read
xv, and not73. The parallelism, how-
ever, requires a noun and not a verb ;
and no resolution is more easy than
that furnished by the punctuation
Dos, according to which the word is
simply made up of x, Ariel, the
name given to Jerusalem, chap. xxix.
1, 2, and Ὁ the pronom. affix, referring
to the Jews. For the meaning of the
term, see on the passage just cited.
The word occurs in this defective form
2 Sam. xxiii. 20. Michaelis, Lowth,
Gesenius, Boothroyd, Jenour, and
others, adopt Os, the reading of
a few MSS., and render, ¢he heroes, or
“the mighty,” with which agrees the
rendering of our common version; but
the above interpretation, which is
that supported by Hitzig, Maurer, and
Scholz, is preferable. That Déderlein
should have rendered the words legati
publicos clamores cient, following the
notion of 78%, angel, messenger, sug-

gested by the Rabbins, is unaecount-
able,as the interpretation is altogether
arbitrary. By metonymy Ariel is put
for the inhabitants, as the plural 372¥
shews. Jerusalem was the glory and
boast of the nation ; and, as such, atten-
tion is drawn to it by the prophet ; but
instead of affording encouragement to
the Jews at the present crisis, it was
itself placed in cireumstances of im-
minent danger. The inhabitants had
left their houses, and in the streets
and open places of the city gave vent
to their cries of distress. By the
Dis ND are meant Eliakim, and
Shebna, and Joab, the messengers
whom Hezekiah sent to negotiate
peace with Rabshakeh, 2 Kings xviii.
18, 37, xix. 2.

8. All intercourse throughout the
country had ceased. Comp. Judg. v.
6. The nominative to 7 is Senna-
cherib, who, having broken the treaty
into which he had entered with Heze-
kiah, overran the country, and re-
garded with contempt its fortified
places and inhabitants.

9. A beautiful poetical amplification
of the description. The most magni-
ficent and fruitful scenes of nature
are represented as converted into
barrenness and desolation. 8 being
an epicenic noun, admits of the verbs
being of both genders. Sharon was
a plain, lying along the Mediterranean,
between Carmel and Joppa, greatly
celebrated for its extraordinary beauty
and fertility. It not only furnished
the richest pasturage, but abounded
in agricultural produce. Comp. Song
li. 1; Isa. xxxv, 2, Ixy; 10.

CHAP. XXXIII.|

ISATAH.

283

10 Now will I arise, saith Jehovah ;

Now will I exalt myself;

Now will I lift myself up.
Mal

Your own wrath is @ fire that

12 And the nations shall be like

Ye shall conceive chaff; ye shall bring forth stubble ;

shall devour you. —
the burning of limestone ;

Like thorns cut down, they shall be consumed with fire.

13

Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done;

And ye that are near, acknowledge my might.

14

The sinners are afraid in Zion ;

Trembling hath seized on the impious ;
Which of us can dwell in devouring fire ?
Which of us can dwell in everlasting burnings ?

15 He that walketh righteously,

And speaketh things that are

10. In the desperate state of Jewish
affairs Jehovah suddenly interposes,
and miraculously delivers his people.
The repetition of THY, xow, is peculiarly
emphatic.

11. The images here employed
strikingly set forth the vain attempt
of the Assyrians to reduce Jerusalem.
Toexpress the formationand execution
of plans, the Hebrews use metaphori-
cally the terms employed to denote
natural conception and birth; and, to
convey an idea of the utter inutility
of any scheme, it is compared to
chaff, stubble, wind, ἕο. Comp. Ps.
vii. 14; Isa. xxvi. 18, lix. 4. 0,
breath, is here used for anger, or rage,
as Judges viii. 3; Isa. xxv.4. Lowth’s
alteration of My D274 into Wx 2-1,
after the conjecture of Secker, is un-
warranted. ‘The meaning is, that the
rage of the Assyrians against Jehovah
and his people would prove the cause
of their own destruction.

12. The \is continuative. By ony
are meant people from the different
nations serving in the Assyrian army.
mipywn, Jurnings, is put in the plural to
indicate intensity. Comp. Amos. ii.
1; and, for the last clause of the verse,
2 Sam. xxiii. 6, 7.

13. The miraculous overthrow of
the army of Sennacherib was so

right ;

co)

illustrious a display of the Divine
omnipotence and care, that it claimed
the attention both of Gentiles and
Jews. They are, therefore, summoned
to give earnest heed to it.

14. Having called upon the Jews to
consider the awful manifestation of
the character of Jehovah, which they
had witnessed in the destruction of
his enemies, the prophet now de-
scribes the alarm which it produced
in the wicked inhabitants of Jeru-
salera. The concluding words of the
verse have no meaning, except there
be an implied reference to eternal
punishment. Of that punishment the
impious Jews had a striking emblem
before their eyes, in the fires of Tophet,
in which the dead bodies of the As-
syrians were being burned. See chap.
xxx. 33, and the passages there quoted.
1 is here used emphatically, as 07? is,
Amos. ix. 1.

15, 16. These verses contain a beau-
tiful description of the character,
security, and happiness, of the right-
eous, contrasted with the miserable
condition of the ungodly. Comp. Ps.
xy. and xxiv. nipi and o9 are used
adverbially. The participles 723, ΘῸΝ,
and ody, strongly express the repug-
nance felt to the evils specified.
Before Θ᾿, subaud. πεν, The righteous

284

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XXXIII.

That despiseth the gain of oppression ;
That shaketh his hands, that he may not take a bribe ;
That stoppeth his ears, that he may not listen to bloodshed ;

And shutteth his eyes, that he
16

may not behold injury :

He it is that shall dwell on high ;

The strongholds of rocks shall be his refuge ;

His bread shall be given him ;

His water shall be constant.
17

They shall see distant lands.
18

Thine eyes shall contemplate the King in his beauty:

Thine heart shall reflect on the terror :

Where is the secretary ? where the collector ?
Where he that numbered the towers ?

cannot listen to any scheme or counsel
which has murder for its object. 897,
at the beginning of ver.16,is emphatic:
He it is who, &. D282 0% signifies
permanent, i.e. perennial fountains or
streams, Jer. xv. 18;—a figure quite
natural to an Oriental poet, and
powerfully calculated to impress the
mind. Comp. Ps. xxiii.

17. Interpreters are greatly divided
on the subject of the king to whom
reference is here made. Déderlein
advocates the preposterous opinion
that Sennacherib is meant. Piscator,
Vatablus, Clarius, Clericus, Jackson,
Hensler, v. d. Palm, Gesenius, Hitzig,
Scholz, and Hendewerk, maintain that
the prophet has Hezekiah in his eye.
This interpretation is also admitted
by Calvin, and that class of commen-
tators, who, with him, explain the
passage first literally of Hezekiah, and
then typically of Christ. On compar-
ing, however, ver. 22, chap. vi. 5; Ps.
xlviii. 2, there is reason to believe that
Jehovah himself is intended. Thus
the Targ. S29 72) NPIS WM, the glory
of the presence of the King of the worlds ;
meaning the sensible symbol of the
Divine presence vouchsafed in the
temple. The vision of this glory was
an object of intense desire on the part
of the pious Israelites, Ps. xxvil. 4,
lxili. 2; Isa, xxxviii. 11, This inter-
pretation has the suffrages of Vitringa,
Michaelis, Koppe, and Cube. The
Jews who had been cut off from access

to Jerusalem by the Assyrian army,
should again enjoy the privilege of
worshipping in the temple, and be-
holding the glory of the Lord. fy 78
opmye, lit. the land of distances, i.e.
distant countries. Instead of being
cooped up within the walls of Jerusa-
lem by the Assyrians, the inhabitants
should not only freely traverse their
own land, but visit distant nations.
Comp. Jer. viii. 19, where the same
phrase occurs ; and in the same sense,
without yx, Zech. x. 9.

18. The meaning is not, as the
rendering of our common version
would import, that the minds of the
inhabitants would be filled with terror
in reference to anticipated evils, but
that the state of terror into which
they had been brought by the foreign
army should now only be matter of
reflection. The questions which follow
shew that the reflection would be
joyous and exulting. As usual, the
interrogatives imply the strongest
negation. By 125 is here meant the
secretary or scribes of Sennacherib,
who took the census of the people,
and imposed upon them the tribute.
This clearly appears from its close
connexion with the following 7,
the weigher, i.e. the collector or tax-
gatherer, who, on receiving the money,
weighed it to ascertain its amount.
DyAWTnY Ww designates the engineer
officer who reconnoitred the fortifica-
tions, to determine on the most eligible

CHAP. XXXIII.|

ISATAH.

285

19 The fierce people thou shalt see no more ;
The people of unintelligible language,
Of a barbarous, unmeaning tongue.

20

Contemplate Zion, the city of our festivals ;

Let thine eyes look on Jerusalem, a tranquil abode—
A tent that shall not be removed :
Its stakes shall never be pulled up,
Nor shall any of its cords be broken.

21 But there the glorious Jehovah shall be to us
Instead of rivers and wide-spreading streams ;

No oared galley shall enter it,

Nor shall any magnificent vessel pass through to it.

For Jehovah is our Judge ;
Jehovah is our Lawgiver ;
Jehovah is our King ;

22

points of attack. The words of Paul,
1 Cor. i. 20, ποῦ σοφός ; ποῦ γραμμα-
Tevs ; ποῦ συζητητὴς, K.T.A., are not,
as some have imagined, a quotation
of the words of this verse; the only
points of agreement between them
being merely the occurrence of ypap-
parevs, and the repetition of the in-
terrogative ποῦ. It is not impossible,
however, that the structure of the
one passage may have suggested the
other.

19. wi) is the regular Niphal Parti-
ciple of 1, which occurs only in this
place, but is obviously equivalent in
signification to WY, to be strong, fierce,

y

cruel. Targ. Win. Syr. eas. Vulg.
impudentem. Symm. ἀναιδὴς. Comp.
mw, Dan. vii. 23. For mw ‘poy,
comp. Ezek. 111. 5, 6; and for ji 2973,
Isa, xxvill..11. That the Assyrians
are meant cannot be doubted. Their
language, or rather that of their
Medo-Persian mercenaries, not being
understood by the Jews, is represented
as in itself unintelligible.

20. Instead of Ivin, upwards of
sixty MSS. and the earliest editions
read 31ND, WE, a ἅπαξ Ney. Comp.

the Arab. ye migravit, iter fecit.

Almost all the terms here employed
are borrowed from the nomadic life ;

and the whole strongly describes the
permanence and tranquillity of the
Jewish state. mz25, however, is not to
be taken in an absolutely unlimited
sense, but is to be understood as ap-
plicable to the old dispensation. ἡ

21. ΟἸΡῸ is used adverbially. See
Hitzig on Hos. ii. 1. In 3 OW OI
or there is evident allusion to the
situation of Nineveh and the royal
cities of Egypt. What the Tigris and
its canals were to the former, and
those of the Nile to the latter, Jehovah
would be to Jerusalem, which had no
such streams for her defence. Comp.
Nah. iii. 8 ; and as parallel in meaning,
chap. xxvi.1. The suffixes in ia and
ay refer to Jerusalem, as expressed
in DW, the adverb of place. Of the
two kinds of vessels here mentioned,
one was propelled by oars; and the
other had sails: hence the use of Ὑπὸ,
splendid, magnificent. 'The former were
employed as war-galleys for conveying
troops, and making an attack; the
latter were vessels of burden for the
transportation of stores, &e. Comp.
Ezek. xxvii. 27, xxx. 9.

22. This beautiful triplet expresses
the confidence of the church in the
government and protection of Jehovah.
The Divine name is placed first for
the sake of emphasis. 7 also is
emphatic. ;

NN

286

He it is that will save us.

23 Thy ropes hang loose ;

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XXXIV.

The men could not make firm the socket of the mast ;

They could not spread the sail.

Then the booty of much spoil was divided ;
Even the lame seized upon the prey.

24

Neither shall any inhabitant say: I am sick;

The people that dwell therein have their iniquity forgiven.

23. The prophet, reverting to the
subject he had introduced, ver. 21, by
a sudden apostrophe addresses the
Assyrian army under the image of a
fleet. Instead of being properly rigged
and prepared for action, it should be
totally dismantled and unfit for ser-
vice :—the effect of the storm of
Divine wrath with which it should be
visited. The 3 was the cross-beam
in which the mast was fixed, so as to
make it steady: called by the Greeks,
μεσόδμη, ἱστοπέδα, and ἱστοδόκη. Be-
cause 0D) occurs, chap. xxx. 17, in the
sense of flag, Hitzig would so render
it here ; but the subject is altogether

different, and 18, to spread, could only
with propriety be used of sai/s. τὰ,
then, is emphatic, and marks the exact
point of time when the inhabitants
of Jerusalem should seize upon the
Assyrian spoils. The introduction of
the lame as going forth to possess
themselves of the booty is exquisite
in effect.

24. The Jews should now enjoy a
period of prosperity and comfort,—
the result of the forgiveness of their
sins. For the connexion between
pardon and convalescence, comp. Ps.
clll. 3; Matt. viii. 17.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

There only remained one other hostile nation against which it was necessary
to pronounce the Divine sentence ; »iz. Edom: the ancient and inveterate

enemy of the Jews.

This sentence is here delivered as part of a general

denunciation against the enemies of the church of God. The chapter begins
with a universal summons to the nations to attend to what the prophet was

about to deliver, 1.

Then follows a prediction of the calamities which

Nebuchadnezzar would bring upon all the nations round Judza, 2—4;
especially upon Idumea, which, with its capital, should be rendered a per-
petual desolation, 5—15. Finally; those who should live in after times are
called to compare the prophecy, as recorded in the inspired volume, with
the event, in order to convince themselves of its Divine origin, and most
minute fulfilment, 16,17. The entire piece is a strongly coloured, magnifi-
cent, and sublime specimen of the prophetic style. See Lowth in Joc. and

Lect. xx.

CHAP. ΧΧΧΙΥ.]

ISATAH.

287

1 Draw near, ye nations, to hear ;

Ye people, attend :

Let the earth and her fulness hear ;
The globe, and all its productions.
2 For the indignation of Jehovah is upon all the nations,
And his fury upon all their armies:
He hath devoted them to destruction ;
He hath delivered them over to slaughter.
3 Their slain also shall be cast out ;
Yea, the stench of their carcases shall ascend ;
And the mountains shall flow down with their blood.
4 All the host of heaven shall also melt,
And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll ;

Yea, all their host shall fall,

As the leaf falleth from the vine,
And as the withered leaf from the fig tree.
5 For my sword shall be made drunk in the heavens ;

1. Though Oxexy is used in several
instances metaphorically of children,

(comp. the Arab. use? stirps, and

the Eth, RARA, fetus, embryo,)

yet it seems here to be employed
literally to denote the various pro-
ductions which spring out of the
earth. Whatever exists on the face
of the globe is summoned to witness
the execution of the Divine wrath.
Comp. for similar instances of proso-
poperia, Ps. 1. 4; Isa. 1.1; Ezek. vi.
3; Micah vi. 1, 2.

2. For the peculiar force of O77,
see chap. xi. 15.

3,4. The language of these verses
is in the highest degree hyperbolical
All nature is represented as involved
in the predicted catastrophe, and sink-
ing into ruin. The atmosphere should
be infected with the effluvia rising
from the bodies of the slain ; and the
quantity of blood should be such as
to wash away the very mountains
from their localities. Not even the
celestial bodies should escape, but
should roll together like a piece of
parchment when set on fire. Comp.
Matt. xxiv. 29; 2 Pet. iii, 10, 12;

Rev. vi. 12—14; Isa. xiii. 10. In pro-
phetic style mountains denote reli-
gious establishments, and the heavens
the sphere of political governments ;
so that the violent and entire removal
of these in the countries around
Judea is here predicted.

5. Now commences the specific
sentence against the Idumzans, with
which are to be compared chap.
Ixiii. 1—6, and Jer. xlix. 7—22. The
language of the latter prophecy is so
explicit, and the description accords
so completely with that more figura-
tively expressed in the two parallel
passages of Isaiah, that we are com-
pelled to refer them all to the same
event—the desolating conquests of
Nebuchadnezzar. The IDUMANS, or
Epomites, 078722; LXX. ᾿Ιδουμαῖοι ;
were the descendants of Esau, or
Edom, Gen. xxv. 25, 30 ; and inhabited
the mountainous country of Seir,

Arab. δ] psi) , which stretched from the

Dead Sea, and the south-eastern boun-
dary of Palestine to the Elanitic gulf.
They were first governed by dukes or
petty chiefs, and afterwards by kings,
Gen. xxxvi. They maintained their
independence till the time of David,

288

ἸΒΑΙΛΗ.

[CHAP. XXXIV.

Behold, upon Edom it shall descend,
Even for judgment upon the people whom I have devoted.
6 The sword of Jehovah is full of blood ;

It is besmeared with fat ;

by whom they were subdued, and con-
tinued vassals to the Jews till the
reign of Jehoram, when they rebelled;
and, though checked by the decisive
victory gained over them by Amaziah,
they soon recovered themselves, to the
great annoyance of the Jewish state.
- Their enmity was also manifested
during and after the exile, having in-
vaded the land of Judzea, and exercised
wanton cruelties on such of the inha-
bitants as had remained. They were,
however, severely chastised by Judas
Maccabeus, who slew twenty thousand
of them; and were at last conquered
by John Hyrcanus, and compelled to
conform to the religion of the Jews ;
they afterwards suffered jointly with
the latter from the Roman arms, and
ultimately became extinct, or amalga-
mated with the Arabs of the desert. No
sooner were the Israelites brought
into contact with them, on their pas-
sage from Egypt, than they expe-
rienced their hostility, Numb. xx. 17,
18; and all along, their hostile dispo-
sition manifested itself whenever there
was a fit occasion, either in the way
of predatory invasion, or of offensive
alliance with other enemies of the
Jews. Hence the denunciations against
them, Ps. cxxxvii. 7; Obad. 10—14;
Jer. xlix. 7—22; Lam. iv. 21, 22;
Ezek. xxv. 12—14, xxxii. 29, xxxv.;
Amos i. 11, 12; and in the present
chapter.

The immediate connexion of all
these prophecies, and the similarity
of the language employed in most of
them, prove that it is the literal Edom
which Isaiah has in view. The notion
of a mystical people or community, as
some have imagined, is utterly unten-
able; resting primarily on the blas-
phemous interpretation of the Jewish
Rabbins, who, by transposing the let-
ters of the name Jesus, have converted
it into Esau, and then applied it to
the Saviour; and Edom, to which
it poetically corresponds, to the Chris-
tians, and especially to Rome—the

centre of Christendom, at the time
they wrote. See Buxtorf’s Lex. Chald.
Talmud. et Rabbin. svb voc. 07x. To
the literal interpretation, the sublime
and awful character of the language
cannot justly be objected, since it
was merely adequate to meet the ex-
pectations of a patriotic Jew in refer-
ence to the infliction of Divine judg-
ment on those who had been the
ancient and most inveterate enemies
of his country.

mis here taken in the Aram. ac-
ceptation, ¢o be filled with liquor, inebri-
ated, LUXX. ἐμεθύσθη ; the sword being
poetically represented as eagerly drink-
ing the blood which it was the instru-
ment of shedding. The preterite is
subordinated to the following future,
and must be rendered accordingly.
By ond is meant the Idumezan
“heaven,” or the ruling power in
Edom, as in ver.4. Yet the judgment
was not to be confined to the rulers ; it
was likewise to extend to the inhabit-
ants generally. 217 DY, lit. the people
of my devotion, i. 6. those whom I have

evoted to destruction.

6. The idea introduced in the pre-
ceding verse is illustrated in this by
language borrowed from the slaughter
of sacrificial victims—a figure which
the prophets frequently employ when
setting forth the destruction of a
people by war. See Jer. xlvi. 10, 1. 27,
li. 40; Ezek. xxxix. 17—20; and
comp. Rev. xix. 17.—72577 stands for
mang, the Hothpaal conjugation, of
which a few other examples occur, as
ὌΞΞΙΤ, Lev. xii, 55, 56; xaun, Deut.
xxiv. 4.

mz3, BozRau, is considered by Ge-
senius to be the Béorpa of the Greek,
and the Bostra Arabia of the Roman
writers, which the Arabs still call by

the name of wa), and which lies
in the Hauran, to the N.E. of the
mountains of Gilead. There is no
proof, however, that this city ever
belonged to the Idumeans ; nor 15

CHAP. XXXIV.|

ISAIAH.

289

The blood of lambs and of goats,
The fat of the kidneys of rams.
For Jehovah hath a sacrifice in Bozrah,
And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 With them also shall the unicorns come down,
And the bullocks with the bulls ;

there the smallest probability that
they would have a capital at the dis-
tance of a hundred miles from their
territory, with the powerful states of
Moab and Ammon intervening. In
all probability, the city of which the
prophet speaks occupied the site of

the present 8 yha?s Besseyra, a village

which Burckhardt found in the moun-
tainous country of Djebal, sixteen
hours to the south of Kerek, and
which, judging from the surrounding
ruins, he considers to have been an-
ciently a considerable city. It lies on
an elevation, at the summit of which
is a castle, built of stone, with strong
walls. What confirms this view of
its position is the mention made of
it in immediate connexion with }21,
Teman, Amos i. 12, a city and region
to the east of Idumea. Burckhardt
takes it to have been the Psora of Pa-
lestina Tertia ; but this Dr. Robinson
disputes. From the circumstance that
Bozrah is mentioned, Jer. xlviil. 24, as
belonging to Moab, some have thought
that it was at one time in the posses-
sion of that people, and that it had
been taken from them by the Idu-
means. This is not impossible ; but,
as it again occurs, chap. xlix. 13, as
the capital of Edom, we are doubtless
to regard that occurring in the former
passage, as a place of the same name
in Moab. Indeed, as the word signi-
fies a fortified or inaccessible place, it
appears to have designated several
cities. Comp. however, with a special
view to the present case, Ps. Ix. 9,
(Heb. 11). That the Bozrah of Isaiah
originally pertained to Edom, we
gather from Gen. xxxvi. 33.

7. The opinion of Jerome, Pagninus,
Forerius, Bruce, &c. that by 0x9, or 0,
the rhinoceros is meant, is now ex-
ploded ; as is, for the most part, that
of Bochart, that the Hebrew word cor-

responds in signification, as it does in
form, to the Arab. “Ὁ yy Ti, & Species

of antelope or gazelle. Schultens,
Gesenius, De Wette, Winer, Hitzig,
and others, contend that the bos buba-
lus, or wild buffalo, is the animal in-
tended : treating the idea of the uni-
corn as altogether fabulous. Still,
however, there are testimonies from
independent witnesses to the existence
of such an animal both in Asia and
Africa, which should make us pause
before we reject this ancient interpre-
tation. Not only is the figure of the
unicorn exhibited on the ruins of
Persepolis, but it is described by
Pliny in his Nat. Hist. viii. 21; by
Ludovico de Bartema, who saw two
at Mecca ; by several Portuguese, and
by Father Lobo, who saw them in
Abyssinia; by the Hottentots in South
Africa; by the natives of Thibet,
where it is called 2502; by Mr.
Hodgson, the British resident at Ne-
paul, who states that it is a native of
southern Thibet ; and by Bishop Bru-
guéres, who is at the head of the
Catholic mission in Siam. See Robin-
son’s Calmet; Winer’s Realworterb.
art. “EKinhorn;” and the Times for
Oct. 29, 1832. The animal is described
as bearing some resemblance to a
horse, has cloven hoofs, a tail shaped
like that of a boar, and the horn
grows out of the forehead. One of
these horns, obtained by Major Latter,
from the Sachia Lama of Thibet, was
twenty inches in length, four inches
and a half at the root, tapering to-
wards the point, and nearly straight.
According to Bp. Bruguéres, its head
is larger than that of an ox, and
the horn rises from its forehead and
points upwards ; it is endowed with
remarkable speed, and bounds like our
deer. It seems unaccountable that the
different Greek translators of the Pen-

290

ISAIAH.

[CHAP, XXXIV.

Yea, their land shall be drenched with blood,
And their soil overspread with fat.
8 For Jehovah hath a day of vengeance,
A year of recompense in vindication of Zion.
9 Her streams also shall be turned into pitch,

And her dust into brimstone ;

And her land shall become burning pitch.

It shall not be quenched by night or by day ;

Her smoke shall ascend for ever ;
From generation to generation it shall lie waste ;
None shall pass through it to all perpetuity.

11

But the pelican and the porcupine shall possess it ;

The crane also and the crow shall inhabit it ;

tateuch, Job, and the Psalms, the
result of whose labour we have in
the LXX., should have concurred in
rendering the term by povoképas, 1. 6.
unicorn, if the existence of some such
animal had not been familiar to them.
In all the passages in which it occurs
it is thus rendered, except in the pre-
sent instance, in which it is translated
οἱ ἁδροὶ, the strong ones. In those pas-

2 ον
sages the Syr. has [Saa3, which is

given, Deut. xiv. 5, as the transla-
tion of 10", a species of antelope ;

and the Arab. has variously rp
gazelle, wo eS, rhinoceros, Des ac-

cording to Damir, ἃ species of

steph pia the wild ow, and wy
soldi) or wy Ms; Unicori.

The Ethiopic has likewise HAdh@.,
PC, the one horned, in the three

passages in which it is thus rendered
in the Arabic. It is obvious no stress
is to be laid on the circumstance that
in Deut. xxxiii. 17, horns are ascribed
to the 08), since the word is there
used as a noun of multitude, the
horns not signifying, as some have
supposed, Ephraim and Manasseh :
but as Moses immediately explains,
“ They are the ten thousands of Ephraim,

and they are the thousands of Manas-
seh.” According to the Scripture re-
presentations, the D981 were strong
and fierce, and were therefore appro-
priately used in a figurative sense to
denote powerful and formidable ene-
mies, especially those of elevated rank,
such as princes or rulers. ΤΥ is here
used in a sense equivalent to 52, to
fall, come down involuntarily ; ined
συμπεσοῦνται.

8. By ΡῈ 2, the cause of Zion, is
meant the contention, or, to use a
legal term, the suit carried on between
the Idumezans and the Jews, to the
great annoyance of the latter, which
Jehovah would now terminate by tak-
ing vengeance on the former. Comp.
Obad. 10—15.

9, 10. Comp. Jer. xlix. 18, where
also the destruction of Edom is com-
pared to that of Sodom and Gomor-
rah; but it is much more forcibly
exhibited by the bold and striking
figures here employed by. Isaiah. This
destruction was to be complete and
perpetual. Comp. Jude 7, and Rev.
xiv. 10, 11.

11. This and the following verses
contain an accumulation of objects
usually associated with desolate re-
gions, in order still more to heighten
the effect of the prophetic picture.
The os7, Kaath, Chal. sm, Katha,
Burckhardt describes as abounding in
such numbers in Shera, that “the
Arab boys kill two or three of them

CHAP. XXXIV. |

ISATAH.

291

For he will stretch over it the line of desolation,
And the plummet of emptiness.

12
rule ;

As for her nobles—none is there whom they might call to the

And none of her princes exist any more.

13

Thorns also shall spring up in her palaces ;

Nettles and thistles in her fortresses :
And she shall be a habitation for wolves ;

A dwelling-place for ostriches.
The wild cats shall meet the jackals ;

14

And the shaggy he-goat shall call to his fellow ;

There also the lilith shall rest,

And find for herself a place of repose.

at a time, merely by throwing a stick
among them.” LXX. (Lev. xi. 18;
&c.) Πελεκὰν ; Vulg. Pelican. The name
is derived from 8p, fo vomit ; this bird
being remarkable for vomiting back the
shells which it has swallowed. In Ps.
ΟἿ]. 7, it is called 1272 Np, the pelican of
the desert, from its frequenting places
remote from the habitations of man.
For tp, see on chap. xiv. 23. The
FON, FON, heron or crane, is likewise a
water-fowl, found in marshy deserts.
LXX. ἴβεις, the Egyptian /d7s or heron.
In the concluding words of the verse,
reference is made to the 1731375 state
of the earth, before it was shaped into
order and beauty, Gen. i. 2,—a state
of complete desolation and emptiness,
than which no comparison could be
more apt. See Jer.iv.23. Tosucha
condition was Idumeza to be reduced ;
and all who have attempted to pene-
trate it, describe such to be its con-
dition at the present day. The line
and plummet were used not only when
buildings were being erected, but also
when they were to be taken down. In
792) the Vis causal, and the nominative
is Jehovah, understood.

12. Lowth’s emendation here is
most unhappy,—TW, her princes, in
the following member of the parallel-
ism, obviously corresponding to 777,
her nobles. The same may be said of
Dpx and |X. 1 in PS) is pleonastic after
the Nom. absolute. Before 139 is an
ellipsis of > 7¢x, which is not uncom-

mon. From the statement here made
it would appear that the Idumean
monarchy was elective.

13. Before 732.8 is an ellipsis of 3.
For 0:5, see on chap. xili. 22.

14. Observe the paronomasia in DZ
and ox, and see for the signification
of both words, and of yw, chap. xiii.
21, 29. τὴ, a ἅπαξ dey—Bochart,
Gesenius, Rosenm., Hitzig, and others,
imagine it to be a night-spectre, such
as the Rabbins describe, and the

same as the ων of the Arabs, the

{dus of the Syrians, and the

ἔμπουσα of the Greeks ; but employed
as it is by the prophet in a catalogue
of real animals, there can be no doubt
that some animal is meant, though
it may now be impossible to decide
which. It is not, however, unlikely
that the m>, lilith, may be the same

as the Arab. ων, lailon, which the

Kamoos explains; tarda avis, ejusve
pullus. Freytag’s Arab. Lex. Of this
interpretation, Déderlein approves,
and adds: “otidem veterum, avem
sordidam, fetore horrendam, solitu-
dinis amicam ;” referring to Shaw’s
Travels for a fuller description. Dathe
has: “tarda avis 5. lamia.” LXX.
ὀνοκένταυροι. Aq. λίλιθ. Vulg. lamia.
Most moderns, the screech-owl, as in
our common version. In the present
state of uncertainty, I have deemed it

292

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XXXIV.

15 There the arrow-snake shall nestle and lay eggs ;
And hatch them, and cover the young with her shadow
There also the vultures shall be gathered together,

Each one with her mate.
16
Not one of these shall fail ;

Search out from the book of Jehovah, and read :

No female shall want her mate ;
For the Divine mouth hath commanded,
And His Spirit hath gathered them.

17

He hath also cast the lot for them,

And His hand hath divided it for them with the line;

They shall possess it for ever ;

best, with Aquila, Van der Palm, and
De Wette, to retain the original word.

15. ep, Arab. Blas , the arrow-snake,
from ye , saliit, insiliit ; the serpent

known among the Greeks by the name
of ἀκοντίας, and the anguis jaculus of
Lin. It abounds in Arabia, and
springs suddenly, and with great
violence, on its prey. Its wound is
deadly. See Boch. lib. iii. cap. 9.
Four MSS. read 1557, and other five
have done so originally. It is also
the reading of the Soncin. Edit., but is
otherwise unsupported. 72 properly
signifies fo slip away, or make one’s
escape: it is here used in Piel to
denote the slipping of the eggs out of
the body of the serpent ; only it is
taken causatively as the act of the

serpent. Comp. the Arab. lal, fetus.

Serpents lay their eggs with much
apparent pain, and leave them to be
hatched in the sun; but when the
young appear, they carefully protect
them. This protection is expressed
by 123, which signifies ¢o collect, heap
together, and so to sit upon or brood.
16. The prophet here calls upon all
who should live after the devastation
of Idumeea, to compare the event with
the predictions respecting it which he
had just delivered. These predictions
would be found in the sacred volume,
emphatically called i 790, the book of
Jehovah, because written by inspiration
of his Spirit, and bearing the stamp

of his authority. The foundation of
its contents had been laid by Moses ;
and they were augmented from time
to time by succeeding prophets, till
the canon was complete. Isaiah knew
that his prophecies would form part
of the volume, and he, therefore, con-
fidently makes his appeal to it. With
THD YD WH, comp. epevvare τὰς γραφάς,
John v. 39.—7:7, these, Vitringa refers
to the predictions: it rather belongs
to the different animals just enu-
merated : they should all, without fail,
be found inhabiting the land of Edom.
ΔΤ is the pronoun used emphatically
for 7, and may therefore admit of 2
in the construct state. Comp. Deut.
Xxxii. 39, and similar passages in which
sii is thus used as equivalent to 77.

> is similarly used in Arabic. A few

codices have 178, contrary to usage ;
some have 737 Ἔ, which is the reading
of the LXX. and Arab.; but both
evidently emendations.

17. Both genders are here used,
doubtless because the animals men-
tioned are of different genders.

That the prophecy contained in this
chapter has been minutely fulfilled,
must be admitted by all who are
acquainted with the present desolate
condition of Idumeza. Volney, in
spite of his infidel prejudices, was
compelled to bear testimony to the
facts of the case. “There are,” he
says, “to the S.E. of the Dead Sea,
within three days’ journey, upwards of
eighty ruined towns absolutely desolated ;

CHAP. ΧΧΧΥ.]

ISATAH. 29

ὧν

To successive generations they shall dwell therein.

several with large edifices. The Arabs
sometimes use them as folds for their
cattle ; but in general they avoid

them, on account of the enormous scor-
pions with which they swarm.” See
Keith on the Prophecies.

CHAPTER XXXV.

This chapter is intimately connected with the preceding. ‘The enemies of the

Jews having been all overthrown in the judgments brought upon them by
Jehovah, Judea, which they had laid waste, should again flourish, 1, 2; the
timid and weak should be encouraged to trust in God for deliverance, 3, 4 ;
every obstacle should be removed which tended to obstruct the restoration
of the Jews to their own land, and every advantage afforded them by which
their speedy and safe return might be promoted, 5—9; so that the sorrows
which had preyed upon them for so long a period should give place to
exquisite and permanent joy, 10. The attempts that have been made to
explain this prophecy of gospel-times, and, in part, of heaven itself, are
exceedingly loose and unsatisfactory. The explanation given by both the
Lowths is of this character. As the language of part of the 6th verse and
that of the 7th is obviously figurative, it is quite a violation of hermeneu-
tical propriety to interpret the 5th, and the former part of the 6th, literally
of the miracles performed by our Saviour. Nor is there any proof what-
ever that Christ refers John the Baptist to this passage, Matt. xi.5. He
employs none of the formulas which he uniformly uses when directing the
attention of his hearers to passages in the O. T. (see Matt. xi. 10, xii. 17, xiii.
14), but simply appeals to his miracles in proof of his Messiahship. The
language is similar, but the subjects are different.

1 Tue desert and the parched ground shall be glad on their
account,
And the wilderness shall exult, and blossom as the rose.

1. Abenezra, Kimchi, Ewald, and
some others, consider the Ὁ in nwt» to
be paragogic, instead of the usual 1,
and ascribe the change to the influence
of the following 2 in 7272. Kennicott,
Lowth, and Hitzig, regard it as the
mistake of some copyist, arising out
of the next word’s beginning with the

same letter. There is, however, no
difficulty created by our taking it as
the suffix, having for its antecedent
the 0.3, zations, whose destruction had
been predicted in the preceding chap-
ter. For instances of similar con-
struction, see omy, Gen. xv. 13;
omy, Ps. xlii. 5. The waste places of

0 0

294

ISATAH,

[CHAP. XXXV.

2 It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice,
Even with exultation and shouting:
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it ;
The splendour of Carmel and Sharon ;
They shall see the glory of Jehovah,

The splendour of our God.

3 Strengthen ye the weak hands,

And confirm the feeble knees.

4 Say to the faint-hearted: Be strong; fear not ;

Behold your God !—

Vengeance cometh, the retribution of God,—

He will come and save you.

Cr

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened,

And the ears of the deaf unstopped.
6 Then shall the lame leap like the hart,
And the tongue of the dumb shall sing ;

Judea personified, exult on account of
the overthrow of those who had deso-
lated them, and again assume their
wonted beauty and fertility. n2v2n.
Interpreters are not agreed as to what
particular plant is intended by this
word. Misled by Gesenius and others,
Thad rendered it by crocusin my former
edition ; but I would now retract that
rendering, and restore the term rose as
in our common version, since it more
suitably expresses the idea of fragrance
and beauty which the context so
obviously demands. Colchicum autum-
nale, assigned by some as the import
of the word, whatever support it may
seem to derive from etymology, does
not commend itself, inasmuch as it
denotes a poisonous bulbous-rooted
plant, and thus conveys a repulsive
rather than an attractive idea. The
rose, on the contrary, is an universal
favourite with Oriental poets, and ex-
presses what is more pleasing to an
English ear. The word only occurs
once besides, Song ii. 1 ; where, in our
common version, it is again translated
7086.

2. 3 73, the LXX. render, τὰ ἔρημα
tov “Iopdavov, which Lowth, after
Houbigant, with equal licence, trans-
lates, “the well-watered plain of Jor-
dan.” 3 is put for πὴ, the construct

for the absolute, as chap. xxxiii. 6, li.
21. For 73, eleven MSS. read 1),
which two more have done originally,
and one or two perhaps still do. The
sense is the same. For the rest of
the verse, see on chap. xxix. 17, xxxiii.
9. What had lain barren and waste
was now to equal the most beautiful
and magnificent scenes of nature.
ma denotes the inhabitants, who
should witness the glorious display of
the Divine character, in the deliver-
ance of the people of God.

3, 4. Comp. Job iv. 3, 4; Isa. xl.
29—31; Heb. xii. 12, 13.~2>>-7M93, the
hasty, quick of heart, i. e. those whose
heart palpitates quickly through fear.
The attention of the church is directed
to the approaching interposition of
Jehovah,—the efiect of which would
be a vindication of her wrongs, by in-
flicting a just retribution upon her
enemies.

5, 6. So conspicuous and overpower-
ing would be the interference of God
on behalf of his people, that those of
the most obtuse intellect could not
fail to perceive it. So joyous would
be the event, that persons the most
unlikely would participate in the ex-
ultation. No image could more beau-
tifully depict the sudden change of
circumstances from adversity to pros-

CHAP. ΧΧΧΥ.]

ISATAH. 295

For water shall break forth in the wilderness,

And streams in the desert.

7 Yea, the vapoury illusion shall become a lake,
And the thirsty soil springs of water ;
Tn the haunts of wolves, where they rest,
Shall be a place for reeds and rushes.

8 A raised road also shall be there, and a way,
And it shall be called, the Holy Way ;
The unclean shall not pass along it,

perity, than the bursting forth of a
plentiful stream in the midst of an
arid sandy desert: nor could any
more powerfully affect the mind of
an Oriental, whose climate differs so
much from ours. Comp. chap. xli. 18,
xiii. 19, 20, xliv. 3, 4.

7. Still more to enhance the idea of
the joyful experience of the Divine
goodness, the prophet introduces the

193, Sharab, Arab. -»» Serab,—an

illusion to which the French have
given the name of mirage, consisting
in the presentation to the view of a
lake or sea in the midst of a plain,
where none in reality exists. It is
produced by the refraction of the rays
of light, during the exhalation of
vapours, by the excessive heat of the
sun; and frequently exhibits, along
with the undulating appearance of
water, the shadows of objects within
or around the plain, both in a natural
and inverted position. The deception
is most complete ; and to the weary
traveller, who is attracted by it, in
the highest degree mortifying ; since,
instead of reaching refreshing water,
he finds himself in the midst of
nothing but glowing sand. It is often
used proverbially, or for the sake of
comparison, by the Arabs, as in the

Koran, Sur. xxiv. 39. |.,γ δ els
Luts sda οἱ sl> fol ole “Le, “But
as for those who believe not, their
works are like the Serad of the plain:

the thirsty imagines it is water,
but when he reaches it, he finds it is

nothing.” See more instances quoted
in Gesen. The meaning of Isaiah is,
that the expectations of the Jews
should not be disappointed. What
they might apprehend would only
prove a delusion, they should ex-
perience to be a reality. The most
abundant provision would be made
for their comfort. The same idea
is conveyed in the latter part of
the verse. The haunts or dvwell-
ing-places of the wolves are natu-
rally dry. 228, ὦ collection of water,

lake, &e. le lel. Compare the

Arabic version of Ps. exiv. 8. For the
meaning of 02m, see on chap. xiii, 22.
in AZM is added on the principle of
the pluralis inhumanus, referring, though
a fem. sing., to the mas. plur., 02",
See Gesen. Lehrg. p. 719. 72, with-
out the Mappik, is found in twenty
MSS., two of the first printed, and
seven other editions, but most likely
from grammatical correction. Be-
fore 7Z2, supply Wy, and after it,
ow. Though vz properly signifies a
Jenced court or habitation, yet it is here
clearly to be taken in the acceptation
of locality, place, &c., and seems to
have been selected to form an anti-
thesis to 73.

8. JD is omitted in eighteen MSS.,
and in the LXX., Syr., and Arab., but
its repetition does not burden the sen-
tence. It is more likely genuine than
otherwise. There being no proper
roads in deserts, but, at most, a faint
track left by the footsteps of camels,
&c., the prediction imports that every
facility would be secured for the re-
turn of the exiles. Nor should any
enjoy these facilities, or have the pri-

290

But it shall be for those,—

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XXXVI.

The travellers, though foolish, shall not err. ὃ:

9 No lion shall be there ;

Neither shall any destructive beast ascend it ;

Tt shall not be found there :

But the redeemed shall walk there.

10

For the ransomed of Jehovah shall return,

And come to Zion with singing ;

And everlasting joy shall be upon their heads ;
They shall obtain gladness and joy ;

And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

vilege of returning, but such as had
been recovered from idolatry. Comp.
chap. Ixii. 10, 12. Idolatry is fre-
quently spoken of as spiritual im-
purity, Jer. ii. 23, 111. passim, xi. 13—
17; Ezek. xxxvii. 23. 4} possesses
peculiar emphasis. The deliverance

that which makes God the nominative
to 7477. Those who should avail
themselves of the means of escape
from Babylon and other countries,
however defective some of them might
be in intellectual energy, should not
fail of reaching Zion.

9. NV yn", one that is ravenous of
or among beasts; a persecutor, oppres-
sor. The redeemed should return in
perfect safety: no enemy should be
found to molest them. x¥an, to be
regular, should be 83%‘, in the mas., as

it reads in three of Kennicott’s MSS.,
and in another originally ; but it was,
in all probability, written in the fem.
by Isaiah,—nv7 predominating in his
mind over y"®, at the moment he
penned it. The other reading savours
of correction. After 3271), supply 38,
which one of De Rossi’s Codices reads,
or 73, as in the LXX., Arab., and
Syr.

10. Comp. chap. li. 11. I must here
adduce the words of Déderlein, with
whose view of the subject I perfectly
concur: “De temporibus N. T. regno
millenario vel reditu ad ccelesta gaudia
Esaias quidem hoc loco, si quid judico,
ne cogitavit quidem, qui autem his de
rebus exposuere locum nostrum, pia
quidem varia, vera multa, sed aliena a
mente prophets congesserunt.” Who-
ever is familiar with the bold and
magnificent character of the prophetic
style will not deem the liberation
from the captivity an event too trivial
to be predicted in the language here
employed.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

This and the three following chapters consist almost entirely of historical
matter, relating to Sennacherib’s invasion, and other events that transpired
towards the end of the reign of Hezekiah. With some variations, it is iden-

CHAP. ΧΧΧΥΙ.] ISATAH.

297
tical with 2 Kings xviii, 13—37, xix.,and 2 Chron. xxxii.; which last chapter,
however, contains only an abbreviated account of the transactions. It has
been queried whether this portion of the book of Isaiah, or the correspond-
ing portion of the Second Book of Kings, be the original ; and whether it
was written by the prophet himself, or merely extracted by another hand
from the annals of the Jewish kings. That Isaiah added it to the preceding
collection of prophecies against foreign nations, with a view to shew how
those which related to the invasion and overthrow of the Assyrians had
been fulfilled, seems highly probable, since we find him inserting other his-
torical narratives for a similar purpose. See chapters vii. viii. xx. xxii.
Certain phrases and sentences, too, are precisely those which we meet with
in his predictions, such as x}. Up, xxxvii. 23; comp. i. 4, x. 17,20. ™
Won, ver. 24; comp. x. 18. ΠΝ ΤΌΣ ΠΊΝΩΝ Ti nN, ver. 32; comp. ix. 7.
Yet as these peculiarities are likewise found in the section of the Book of
Kings, it follows that both were written by our prophet. To which add,
the minuteness with which many of the circumstances are related, evincing
that the writer was an eye-witness, or, at least, a contemporary, which we
know Isaiah to have been, as well as one who was personally concerned in
the transactions. On closely comparing, however, the two portions of the
sacred text, it will be quite apparent that what we have in Isaiah is an
altered copy of the text in 2 Kings, and not vice versé. It abbreviates and
omits many things, as well as modes of expression, which occur in the lat-
ter; aims at greater uniformity in the use and construction of words ; and
substitutes what is easier or more appropriate for what is more difficult.
Examples of these will be noticed in the Commentary. It would, therefore,
appear that the prophet must have copied what he had already written in
the Jewish annals, or in the Book of Kings, only altering it as he proceeded,
emending some parts, omitting others, and adding some new matter, such
as the song of Hezekiah, chap. xxxviii. 9—20. The mention of the death
of Sennacherib as an historical fact, chap. xxxvii. 38, forms no objection to
the authorship of Isaiah, since the latter must have reached a very advanced
age. See Introd. Equally futile is the objection taken from the use of the
terms 72 and m7, since there is nothing that militates against their
having been employed by our prophet.

1 AND it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah,
that Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came up against all the

1. The expedition of Sennacherib,
to which reference is here made, was
not undertaken against the Jews, but,
as Herodotus, 11. 141, informs us,
against Sethos, king of Egypt. This
accounts for his immense army, (στρα-
τὸν μέγαν, Herod.) which must have

amounted to vastly more than 200,000,
since nearly this number perished of
that single division of it which had
been sent against Jerusalem. It was
on his march through Palestine that
he stopped to chastise Hezekiah for
having thrown off the Assyrian yoke,

298

2 fortified cities of Judah, and took them.

ISATAH.

[CHAP, XXXVI.

And the king of

Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem to king
Hezekiah, with a great army; and he halted at the aqueduct of

co

the upper pool, in the causeway of the fuller’s field.

And there

went out to him Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, who was over the
household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joach, the son of

4 Asaph, the annalist.

And Rabshakeh said to them: Tell now

Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What

or

and to subdue the fortified places
which lay in his way, that they might
not prove an annoyance to the rear of
his army, or obstruct him were he
forced to retreat. His Hebrew name,
17720, is very accurately preserved in
Σαναχάριβος, as given by Herodotus.

Bohlen compares the Pers. yal,
celebritas victorie,—a more likely deri-
vation than ω» holy, and --»

priest, proposed by Gesenius. His
being styled by Herodotus: βασιλέα
᾿Αραβίων τε Kat ᾿Ασσυρίων, may be
accounted for, partly on the ground
of the extended acceptation anciently
given to the name Arabia, and partly
from actual conquests made in Arabia
by the Assyrian power. The fortified
cities of Judah were built by Reho-
boam, and were fifteen in number.
They are specified 2 Chron. xi. 5—12.
The meaning of the historian is, that
these cities were all successively taken
by Sennacherib ; not that they had
been all actually subdued previous to
the transactions which he was about
to describe.

2. MOT, Rabshakeh, prop. a name of

Q vy
office: Syr, 1325. D3 , the Chief But-

ler; Opoon wo, Gen. xl. 2, 9, 90:
Comp. D0, Radb-saris, “the chief
eunuch,” and 221, Lab-mag, “ Chief
of the Magi,” Jer. xxxix. 3: but it
was not unusual, as it still is in the
East, for persons holding high offices
at court, to be at the same time high
in military command. The narrative
is here considerably abbreviated from

confidence is this that thou exercisest? saying: I maintain (but
it is mere talk) there is counsel and might for the war.

On

that in 2 Kings xviii. 13—17. Of the
three officers there mentioned,—Tar-
tan, Rab-saris, and Rab-shakeh, the last
only is noticed in Isaiah, because he
was the speaker on the occasion.
2, Lachish, originally a royal city of
the Canaanites, Josh. x. 3, but fortified
by Rehoboam, 2 Chron. xi. 9. It must
have been a place of considerable
strength, Jer. xxxiv. 7. According to
Eusebius, it lay seven Roman miles
from Eleutheropolis southward, or
about twenty-five miles west of Jeru-
salem. For the locality here specified,
see on chap. vii. 3.

3. See chap. xxii. 15—25, where, as
in the present narrative, the name of
Shebna is spelt 822, and not 122%, as
in 2 Kings. As 180, scride, he filled a
different office from ‘2%, recorder,
being employed as private secretary ;
whereas, the latter was the historio-
grapher, or royal annalist, whose duty
it was to enter on the public records
of the kingdom the more remarkable
events that transpired.

4, 137 7227, the Great King: a title
assumed by oriental monarchs, partly
from vanity, and partly to distinguish
them from the petty kings or princes
whom they held in vassalage. Comp.
chap. x. 8. i) is here used as a par-
ticle of contempt, as 1 Kings ix. 13.

5. Instead of Max, 7 say, thirteen
of Kennicott’s MSS., one now, and
three in the margin, five of De Rossi’s
originally, and the Syr., read, AyY2x,
Thou sayest, which is the textual read-
ing in 2 Kings. It is very possible,
however, that ἸΌΝ is genuine,—TNX?,
saying, being understood, as frequently,
at the end of the preceding verse.

CHAP. XXXVI. |

ISATAH. 299

whom now dost thou rely, that thon hast rebelled against me ?
Behold! thou reliest on that broken reed-staff, Egypt, on which,
if one lean, it will enter into his hand, and pierce it through:
such is Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to all who rely upon him.
But thou wilt say to me: We confide in Jehovah, our God :—is
it not he whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath
removed, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem: Before this
altar ye shall worship? But now, enter the lists with my
master, the king of Assyria, and I will furnish thee with two
thousand horses, if thou canst furnish thyself with riders to
them. How then shouldst thou repulse one officer of the least
of my master’s servants? Yet thou reliest upon Egypt for

10 chariots and horsemen.

mnawrs1, a word, or thing of lips, i.e.
what is merely such, and has no
foundation in reason or reality. Comp.
on wr, a man of lips, i.e. a great
talker, one who blusters, but means
nothing by what he says.

6. P22 is not properly what is
actually broken, as no one would lean
upon such a staff, but what is bruised,
orreally, though not apparently injured,
and thus incapable of yielding the
support expected from it. There is
possibly here a reference to the weak-
ening of the Egyptian power, by the
expedition sent thither by Sargon, the
immediate predecessor of Sennacherib.
See chap. xx. The 737, reed, was a fit
symbol of Egypt, since it grew so
plentifully in that country. Comp.
for the sentiment, chap. xxx. 5, 7.
Such language, coming from Rabsha-
keh, was a severe reproof to the Jews,
who were so prone to confide in Egypt.

7. Instead of wom, the text in 2
Kings has pv2Nn — addressing the
people instead of Hezekiah, which
agrees better with that monarch’s
being immediately spoken of in the
third person. There is no various
reading in the MSS.; but the LXX.
and Chald. have the plural. There is
here a reference to the abolition of
idolatry effected by Hezekiah, of which
an account is given, 2 Kings xviii. 4;
2 Chron. xxix. 16.

8. rw, fo mix one’s self up with any
one, meddle, enter tnto a combat. For

But now, is it without Jehovah that I

ex 7297, one of De Rossi’s MSS., and
one of Kennicott’s, the Soncin. and
Brix. Edd., and the Soncin. Prophets
of 1486, read 77, without the article,
which is the more usual practice.
The text of 2 Kings reads, "Wx 77) ney.
There are, however, several instances
in which the article is used before a
noun in construction. Hezekiah might
easily have furnished two thousand
men, but two thousand fit to act as
horsemen might have been more
difficult, as the training of cavalry
was doubtless discouraged, if not
absolutely prohibited by that pious
king.

9. 778, a foreign word of uncertain
origin. Bohlen derives it from the

Persic, Uw, proceres, magnates ;
Ewald, from Beat curare. The per-

son who filled this office was governor
or prefect of a province, but inferior
to a satrap. The name was in use
among the Hebrews as early ‘as the
time of Solomon, see 1 Kings x. 15;
so that the position of Gesenius,
respecting its recent introduction, is
without foundation. His remark, how-
ever, that 708 nmD is the only instance
of a substantive and an adjective
being both in construction with the
following noun, is worthy of notice.
10, Either this was mere bluster on
the part of Rabshakeh, or he may
have been encouraged in his expedition

900

15

16

17

18

ISATAH. [CHAP. XXXVI.

am come up against this land to destroy it? Jehovah hath said
tome, Go up to this land, and destroy it. Then Eliakim, Shebna,
and Joach, said to Rabshakeh, Speak, we pray, to thy servants
in Aramaic, for we understand it, but do not speak to us in
Jewish, in the hearing of the people that are on the wall. But
Rabshakeh said, Was it to thy master, and to thee, that my
master sent me to speak these words? Was it not to the men
who sit on the wall, who are to eat their own excrements and
drink their own urine, along with you? And Rabshakeh stood.
and cried with a loud voice in Jewish, and said, Hear ye the
words of the great king, the king of Assyria: Thus saith the
king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you; for he is not able to
deliver you. And let not Hezekiah make you confide in
Jehovah, saying, Jehovah will surely deliver us; this city shall
not be surrendered to the king of Assyria. Hearken not to
Hezekiah ; for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make peace with
me, and come out to me, and eat ye, each of his own vine, and
each of his own fig-tree, and drink ye, each of the water of his
own cistern ; till 1 come and take you to a land like your own
land; a land of corn and new wine, a land of bread-corn and
vineyards. Let not Hezekiah deceive you, saying, Jehovah
will deliver us. Did the gods of the nations deliver, each his

by some false prophet, who pretended
to have a revelation from Jehovah on
the subject.

11. maw, Aramaic, the language
spoken not only in the western divi-
sions of Syria, on the confines of the
Holy Land, but also in Mesopotamia,
and even further to the east. mn,
Jewish, i.e. Hebrew; but appropriately
so termed, as the ten tribes had by
this time been carried into captivity.

12. The Keri has here, as elsewhere,
euphemistically Dpx2 for DIYS VW, and
Dm) for oF. On this point
the Jewish literati have been ex-
tremely sensitive: the editors of the
Soncin. and Brix. editions actually
adopting DY." of the Keri into
the text ; and others, who would not
venture so far, leaving an open space
sufficient to admit the word Ὁ, the
vowel-points of which they have not
scrupled to insert. The > in 2%, and
nm, expresses destination. Rab-
shakeh calls the attention of the in-

habitants to the extremities to which
they should be reduced in the siege,
and excites them to rebellion, by
pointing out the impossibility of their
successful resistance of the attack.
16, 7273, dlessing, is here evidently
used in the acceptation of Οὐ, peace.
Thus the Chald. δορὰ ay Ὑτὴν ; Saad.

_siyele. On the other hand Diy is

frequently used for 773, in the sense
of salute.

17. The Jews, on capitulating, should
enjoy their liberty till the Assyrian
army returned from Egypt, when they
should be transported, according to
the custom of those times, to the land
of the conqueror. The country be-
yond the Euphrates or the Tigris
they would find as fertile and plentiful
as their own. There is here a con-
siderable abbreviation of the text in
2 Kings.

18, 19. Rabshakeh regarded Je-
hovah merely as a local deity, entitled

CHAP. XXXVII.|

ISAIAH. 301

19 own land, from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are

20

21

the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of
Sepharvaim ? Did they deliver Samaria from my hand? Who
among all the gods of these lands delivered their country from
my hand, that Jehovah should deliver Jerusalem from my
hand? And they were silent, and did not answer him a word ;
for the king’s order was, Ye shall not answer him. And
Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and
Shebna, the secretary, and Joach, the son of Asaph, the annalist,
came to Hezekiah, with rent garments, and told him the words

of Rabshakeh.

to no greater consideration than those
of other cities which had been taken
by the Assyrians. For Hamath, and

the most southerly city of Mesopo-
tamia, situated on the east bank of
the Euphrates. It was from this city,
or the district belonging to it, that
colonists were sent to occupy the
land of Israel, 2 Kings xvii. 24. The
opinion of Vitringa, that some Syro-
pheenician city is meant, which Koppe

adopts, is without sufficient foun-
dation. Thetextin Kings adds Hena,
and Ivah, which afterwards occur in
this history. The ἡ in 3) has an in-
terrogative force, which the versions
express. It is, however, omitted in
three of Kennicott’s Codices, and was

of Kings reads.

22. Comp. chap. xxxili. 7. The
rending of the garments was a common
and very expressive token of grief
among the Hebrews, and other eastern
nations. Comp. chap. xxxvii. 1.

1

CHAPTER XXXVII.

AND it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard them, he
rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went
into the house of Jehovah, and sent Eliakim, who was over the
household, and Shebna, the secretary, and the elders of the
priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah, the son of Amoz, the
prophet. And they said to him, Thus saith Hezekiah: This
day is a day of distress, and rebuke, and calumny ; for the
children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to

3. The concluding sentence in this
verse is proverbial, and is expressive
of the greatest danger, and despair
of deliverance. The inhabitants of
Jerusalem were like a woman in child-

birth, whose strength is completely
exhausted, so that she sinks helpless
at the very moment when it is most
required,

802

10

ISAIAH. [CHAP, XXXVII.

bring forth. Perhaps Jehovah, thy God, will hear the words
of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria, his master, hath sent
to reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which
Jehovah thy God hath heard; wherefore, offer up a prayer for
the existing remnant. And the servants of king Hezekiah
came to Isaiah. And Isaiah said to them, Thus shall ye say to
your master: Thus saith Jehovah, Be not afraid on account of
the words which thou hast heard, with which the striplings of
the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Behold! I will
inspire him with courage; but he shall hear a report, and shall
return to his own country; and I will cause him to fall by the
sword in his own country.

Then Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria
besieging Libnah ; for he had heard that he had departed from
Lachish. And he heard of Tirhakah, king of Cush, saying,
He cometh forth to fight thee. And when he heard it, he sent
messengers to Hezekiah, saying, Thus shall ye speak to
Hezekiah, king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God, in whom

4, Vin nxn, is inferential, wherefore,
on this account.

6. 02, lads, striplings, is used con-
temptuously instead of 0°72Y, servants ;
though, in other connexions, it is

_ equivalent to it.

7. 77 42 7) ‘27 has been variously in-
terpreted. Some think there is here
a distinct prediction of the miraculous
destruction of Sennacherib’s army,
which they suppose to have been
effected by means of the simoom, or
hot wind from the Arabian desert.
Of this our translators appear to have
approved—rendering the words, “ Be-
hold, I will send a blast upon him.”
To such construction, however, it
must be objected, that it is at variance
with the idiomatic force of 21% 0),
which uniformly signifies to czspire,
endow mentally, endue with life, will,
determination, ὅθ, On the same prin-
ciple πνεῦμα δειλίας, proposed by Secker,
and approved by Hendewerk, must be
rejected. Déder. consilium ; Rosenm.
voluntatem; Gesen. and Hitzig, dis-
position; none of which satisfies the
claims of the passage. On the other
hand, as [™ is more than once used in
the sense of fortitude, courage, &c., as
Josh. ii. 11, v. 1; 1 Kings x. 5, it may

appropriately be taken in this accep-
tation in the present instance. Je-
hovah declares that he would inspire
the king of Assyria with resolution to
prosecute the ends of his expedition ;
but at the moment of his proceeding
to meet Tirhakah, intelligence of the
overthrow of that part of his army
which lay before Jerusalem would
reach him, and occasion his immediate
flight. It is evidently to this, and not
to the report respecting Tirhakah,
ver. 9, that the 7y2¥ refers, since the
result of that report was not his
effecting an immediate retreat, but
his sending a fresh embassy to Heze-
kiah to induce him to capitulate, in
order that he might be at liberty to
employ his entire force against the
Ethiopian monarch.

8. Whether Sennacherib succeeded
in taking Lachish or not, cannot be
determined, though it is more likely
he had. 72, LXX. AcBvd, AoBva, a
city of the priests, in the south of
Judah. Eusebius calls it AoBava, and
places it in the vicinity of Eleuthero-
polis.

9. For an account of Tirhakah, see
chap. xviii.

10, The Assyrian monarch repeats,

CHAP. XXXVII.]

11

12

13

ISAIAH. 303

thou confidest, deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be
surrendered to the king of Assyria. Behold! thou hast heard
what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries,
devoting them to destruction; and shalt thou be delivered ?
Did the gods of the nations, which my fathers destroyed, deliver
them? Gozan, and Haran, and Retzeph, and the Edenites,
which are in Telassar? Where is the king of Hamath, and
the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of the Sepharvaites,

of Henah, and Ivah ?
14

And Hezekiah received the letters from the hand of the

messengers, and read them, and went up to the house of

15

Jehovah, and spread them before Jehovah. And Hezekiah

16 prayed to Jehovah, saying, Ὁ Jehovah of Hosts, the God of

in an amplified form, the argument
which he had already employed, chap.
XXxvi. 18—20.

12. 33, Gozan, in all probability the
Tavoaviris of Ptolemy, v. 18, situated
between the rivers Chaboras and
Saccoras. Some would place it on
the Kissil-Osan, a river in the north
of Persia, which flows into the Caspian
Sea; but its immediate connexion
with Haran favours the former inter-
pretation. Comp. 2 Kings xvii. 6,
Xviil. 11, where the Chaboras is called
the river of Gozan. 0, Haran, LXX.
Xappay, 81, 1 Chron. v. 26, an ancient
city-in Mesopotamia, Gen. xi. 31, xii.
5, xxvli. 43 ; the Kappau, Carre, of the
Greeks and Romans, and celebrated for
the defeat of Crassus. 421, Rezeph.
Jakut, in his Geog., mentions not fewer
than nine towns of this name ; as does
also Abulfeda in his Tab. Syr. Most
probably the one here specified is the
“Pnodda of Ptolemy, v. 15, or the Re-
sapha Heshami of Abulfeda ; situated
somewhat short of a day’s journey to
the west of the Euphrates. y1v™~23, the
children, i.e. the inhabitants of Hden.
That the Eden here spoken of cannot
be the Eden of Damascus, Amos i. 5,
situated between Tripoli and Baalbek,
seems clear, from its occurring in
connexion with Haran, as it also does,
Ezek, xxvii. 23. It is most likely the

Syrian, pose » Maedan, which Asse-

man, Bib. Orien. i. p. 224, places in
the province of Diarbekr. This place

or district the Assyrians appear to
have conquered, and transplanted the
inhabitants to Wwn, 2 Kings xix. 12,
in full weir, Telassar, which is sup-
posed to be the same as 1038, Hllasar,
Gen. xiv. 1; a country or district
somewhere to the north of Shinar.

Saad. ἀλλο» Armenia.

can be no doubt that it is used by
Isaiah—not of the rulers or chief
magistrates of these cities, but of
their idols, to which the Syrians and
Phoenicians gave the name, as D7 79,
ΤΡ Ξε ἢ pod, &. vy, LXX. (2 Kings
XVili. 34) "Ava, Ava, probably the city
ale
situated in Mesopotamia, on a ford of
the Euphrates. my, 2 Kings xvii. 24, sy,
Ivah, a city respecting which nothing
further is known, than that it was taken
by the king of Assyria, and its inha-
bitants were sent to colonize Samaria.

14. Instead of 718779, the text of
2 Kings, and De Rossi's MS. 380, read
DxXw in the plural; yet both have
the following 75) in the singular.
Both may be reconciled by taking the
plural distributively, each of them,
singly, or such like.

15—20. A most appropriate and
beautiful prayer, expressive of a clear
faith and confident trust in Jehovah,
as the only God, in opposition to the
claims advanced by idolaters in behalf

of the Arabian geographers,

904

17

18
19

20

ISATAH. [CHAP. XXXVII.

Israel, that sittest between the cherubs! Thou alone art the
God of all the kingdoms of the earth. Thou hast made the
heavens, and the earth. Incline, O Jehovah! thine ear, and
hear; open, O Jehovah! thine eyes, and behold; and hear all
the words of Sennacherib, which he hath sent to reproach the
living God. In truth, O Jehovah! the kings of Assyria have
destroyed all the nations, and their countries; and have cast
their gods into the fire, (for they are not gods, but the work of
men’s hands, wood and stone,) and destroyed them. And now,
O Jehovah, our God! save us from his hand, that all the

kingdoms of the earth may know that thou alone art Jehovah.

21

Then Isaiah, the son of Amoz, sent to Hezekiah, saying,

Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Since thou hast prayed

22

to me concerning Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, this is the

thing which Jehovah hath spoken respecting him :

of their deities ; and recognising the
Divine glory as the result of the
supplicated deliverance,

16, DET AW, lit. the Inhabiter of the
cherubs, but, according to Exod. xxv.
22, DIT MD pr, between the two che-
rubs, placed one on each side of the
mercy-seat, the throne of Jehovah’s
visible glory among the Hebrews. For
the meaning of 273, see on chap. vi. 2.
NUT, In OVNI NIT TY, possesses peculiar
emphasis: Thou art He who art, &c.
ἢ. 6. the true, or really existing God.
What is added, “Thou hast made,”
&c., Zwinglius calls an elegans prosa-
podosis, shewing that God had a right
to all things, because he was their
Maker.

17. For 47%, fifty-five MSS,, and ori-
ginally ¢ez more, the Soncin., Brix.,
and sixteen other editions read in full,
72», which is the reading in 2 Kings.
The LXX., Syr., Vulg., and Arab. have
the plural, “‘ thine eyes,’’ which is un-
doubtedly right. Gesenius has here
the very ingenious observation, that
the use of the singular in reference
to the ear, and that of the dual in
reference to the eye, is equally in
accordance with the wsws loguendi, and
with fact. When we would listen to
any one we naturally incline ove of our
ears towards him, but when we would
look at any thing we open doth our
eyes.

18, ὈΞ ΤΙΝῚ Nsw ΠΝ, lit. all the
lands and their land; in Kings sms
Dosw), the nations and their land,
which is the reading in Isaiah of up-
wards of twelve MSS.; yet most
probably by correction, since all the
versions have ΠΊΣΤΙΝ, Hither Isaiah
understood by nizix, zations, those
who inhabit countries ; or, he was led
to use the term the better to suit the
preceding verb 7, which nowhere
else occurs in application to people,
except chap. lx. 12. The only objec-
tion against the present reading is
the harshness of the repetition; fx
being otherwise used metonymically
for the inhabitants of a country,
Judges xviii. 30; Isa. xi. 4. In 2
Chron. xxxii. 13, we find ΓΒ τ “3,
and oYIwny, immediately following—
so that, after all, there may here be
an ellipsis of 3.

19. 12}, the historical Infin. which
we find Isaiah also employing chap.
v. 5, et freq. The text of Kings has
333),

“20. mmx, in Tim TAY, is emphatic.
Comp. Ps. xc. 3. In Kings, D8 is
added to mim, After wy, upwards
of twenty MSS. add %2, which the
text in Kings exhibits ; but it is not
expressed in any of the versions.

22. On 7Yna, virgin, in application
to cities, see chap. xxiii. 12. Micha-
elis notices, that previous to the con-

CHAP. XXXVIL.|

ISAIAH.

305

The virgin daughter of Zion despiseth thee, she laugheth at

thee ;

The daughter of Jerusalem shaketh her head at thee.

23

Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed ?

Yea, against whom hast thou raised thy voice,

And lifted up thine eyes ?

Against the Holy One of Israel.

24

By thy servants thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said :

With the multitude of my chariots have I ascended

The heights of the mountains, the recesses of Lebanon ;

I have also cut down its tallest cedars, its choicest cypresses ;
And reached its extreme height, its finest forest.

bo
Or

I have dug and drunk water ;

And will dry up, with my feet, all the streams of Egypt.

Hast thou not heard, that of old I prepared it,

And planned it from ancient days ?

quest of Magdeburg, in 1630, the
arms of that town exhibited a young
woman with a virgin crown upon her
head ; but after that event she held
the crown in her hand. To shake the
head at one, was, among the Hebrews,
an expression of contempt. This the
inhabitants of Jerusalem would do
when Sennacherib was compelled to
flee. Comp. κινεῖν τὴν κεφαλὴν, Matt.
XXVil. 39.

23—25. Here the insolent monarch
is called to account for his blasphe-
mous arrogance ; and a specimen is
given of the vaunting language which
he had dared to employ. No‘obstacle
had hitherto impeded him in his pro-
gress. The most inaccessible regions
of Lebanon had been explored by his
troops ; and, in the wanton pride of
his heart, he had made havoc of its
most stately trees. Nor had he ex-
perienced any want of water in the
desert for the supply of his immense
army ; the mere introduction of which
into Egypt would dry up the Nile,
and all its branches! The language
is mainly figurative ; since the march-
ing of troops over the ridges of
Lebanon would have been as prepos-
terous as the conveyance of chariots
over those elevated, precipitous, and
snow-clad regions impossible. As he

had conquered every difficulty, so
now he would carry all before him.
Comp. for the phraseology, chap. x.
18; and for a parallel specimen of
his boasting, ver. 13, 14, of the same
chapter. Comp. also chap. xiv. 13,
14, Thus Alaric, boasting of his con-
quests :— :

“cum cesserit omnis
Obsequiis natura meis? Subsidere
nostris
Sub pedibus montes; arescere vidi-
mus amunes.
Fregi Alpes galeisque Padum victri-
cibus hausi.”
Claudian, de Bello Get. 526, 532.

Thus also Juvenal describes the

Greeks under Xerxes :—

{ credimus.altos

Defecisse amnes, epotaque flumina
Medo

Prandente, et madidis cantat que
Sostratus alis.”—Sut. x. 176.

26. Nothing could be more sublime
in effect than the suddenness with
which Jehovah here interrupts the
boasting monarch. “Be not proud
of thy victories ; thou art merely an

306

Now [I bring it to pass,

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XXXVII.

That thou shouldest convert fortified cities into desolate ruins.

27

Therefore are their inhabitants short of power ;

They are dismayed and confounded ;
They are as the grass of the field, and as the green herb ;

As the grass on the roofs,

And as grain blighted before it hath stalked.

in, | know;
And also thy rage against me.

Have come up into mine ears,

Yea, thy sitting down, and thy going out, and thy coming

Because thy rage against me, and thine insolence,

I will put my ring into thy nose,

And my curb into thy lips,

And turn thee back by the way which thou camest.

30

And this shall be a sign to thee: Eat this year that which

groweth of itself; and in the second year, that which springeth
up in like manner; and in the third year, sow and reap, plant

instrument in my hand, by which I
have punished wicked cities, as I long
ago purposed and predicted through
my prophets.” Scholz. Comp. chap.
x. 5, 6. In Dz) 042 is no difficulty
whatever, though Lowth stumbles at
the words. Comp. xxv. 2; Jer. ix.
9 (Heb. 10), li. 37, and iv. 7.

27. Ὁ ΞΡ, short-handed, i.e. weak,
powerless. Comp. ᾿ ial dy ye " Μὰ
Knés Hist. x. Ves. pp. 9,10. Τὸ ex-
press his power, Artaxerxes I. had the
surname μακρόχειρ, Lougimanus. ΤΟ Τῷ,
in Kings 727%, which three codices
read here. The Ὁ has in all proba-
bility been substituted for the 5, by
some transcriber. The noun is derived
from τ, ¢o scorch; Chald. τῶ, Zo

burn; Arab. WSduv θυ , tenebrea ;

the blackness of night. When corn is
blighted, it becomes black.

28. The accumulation in this verse
is intended to express the utmost
attention and most accurate know-
ledge. Comp. Ps. exxxix. 2.

29. The Mm was a hook, or ring, used
for securing large marine animals,
and for curbing land animals, such ag

camels, buffaloes, ὅσο. Comp. Job xl.
1, 2; Ezek. xxix. 4, xxxviii. 4.

30. The prophet now addresses
Hezekiah, and encourages him to
exercise confidence in God, by giving
him a token by which he should
know that an entire deliverance from
the Assyrians would ensue. This nix,
sign, like that specified chap. vii. 14,
consisted in the prophetic announce-
ment of a future event, the miraculous
accomplishment of which would con-
firm the oracle. In the present in-
stance the event was to be an
abundant supply of provisions for
two years, in the absence of all culti-
vation of the ground. Instead of the
accustomed produce, which had failed
during the former of these years,
either from the fields not having been
sown at the time when the Assyrian
army entered the country, or from
its having been trampled upon and
eaten up during the invasion, the
Jews should find a sufficiency in that
which grew spontaneously from what
had remained in the ground after the
crop of the preceding year had been
reaped, Not only, however, was such
spontaneous growth to suffice for one

CHAP. XXXVII.]

ISAIAH.

907

31 vineyards also, and eat the fruit of them. And the escaped of the
house of Judah, that are left, shall again strike root downward,

32

and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a

remnant, and they that have escaped, from mount Zion: the

33

zeal of Jehovah of Hosts shall effect this.

Therefore, thus

saith Jehovah concerning the king of Assyria :
He shall not come into this city,

Nor shoot an arrow into it;

He shall not present a shield before it,
Nor throw up a mound against it.

year ; but a second spontaneous crop
was to spring from what in like
manner might remain of it, to be a
supply for the year ensuing, and for
so much of the third as might elapse
before harvest. It is generally believed,
that the reason why the Jews were
not at liberty to cultivate the ground
the second year was, that it was either
the sabbatical year, or that of jubilee ;
though, from the uncertainty con-
nected with the Hebrew chronology,
it is scarcely possible satisfactorily to
establish the point. At all events it
must have required a special blessing
(comp. Lev. xxv. 21) to render the
earth sufficiently productive to secure
the supply here promised, The terms
map and ow scarcely, if at all, differ
in signification. The former, the LXX.
in 2 Kings xix. 29, and Lev. xxv. 5,
render αὐτόματα, what springs up of
itself; but here a ἕσπαρκας : the latter
the LXX. give by τὸ κατάλειμμα, what
is left; Aq. and Theod. αὐτοφυῆ.

Comp. the Arab. ua , sustulit sese,

elatus fuit. In Kings the reading is
wrD—reversing the first and last
letters.— 28, according to the ancient
versions, and the following verbs, are
imperatives used for the future, in
order strongly to express the certainty
of the event. See on chap. vi. 10.
Instead of 3281, which might other-
wise be pointed 728, the Keri has
28, which is found in the text of
more than forty codices, and in some
of the earliest editions. It is like-
wise supported by all the versions.
Perhaps, however, this verb, in both
the instances in which it is used in

this verse, was designed to be taken
as the Infinitive 728, employed ellip-
tically for 28M 3x, eating, ye shall φαΐ,
ie. ye shall certainly, or abundantly
eat. Comp. 133, Exod. xx. 8; inv,
Deut. v. 12.

31, 32. By an easy transition, the
prophet proceeds to foretel the pro-
sperity which should follow to the
nation, by comparing it to a tree,
which strikes deep root in the ground,
and, drinking in abundance of mois-
ture, produces plenty of fruit. 2
signifies to add to, increase, &c. ; and,
connected as here with “WW, it indi-
cates the depth and spread of the
roots. By 7235 are meant those who
had fled before the Assyrians; and
by mixt, such as remained in the
land, and were now in the power of
the enemy, or such as continued safe
within the walls of Jerusalem. When
the enemy was no more, they would
go forth at pleasure throughout the
land : some to their homes, and some
to assist in cultivating the ground,
and repairing what had been laid
waste. Comp. Nah.ii.3. For the last
clause of ver. 32, comp. chap. ix. 6.

33—35. In these verses a positive
assurance is given, that, instead of
advancing with the rest of his army,
and laying regular siege to Jerusalem,
Sennacherib should, through the gra-
cious interposition of Jehovah, be
compelled to return to his own coun-
try. That some preparations for an
attack had previously been made by
the division under Rabshakeh is evi-
dent from chap. xxix. 3; so that the
present prediction must relate to what
Hezekiah still apprehended—a siege

908

ISATAH.

(CHAP. XXXVII.

34 By the very way he came shall he return,
And shall not come into this city, saith Jehovah.
35 For I will protect this city, and deliver it,
For my own sake, and for the sake of David my servant.

36

And an angel of Jehovah went forth, and smote in the camp

of the Assyrians, an hundred and eighty-five thousand men ;
and when men arose early in the morning, behold! they were

37 all dead corpses.

by the Assyrian monarch himself, at
the head of his entire army. Accord-
ing to this interpretation, the two
passages are in perfect harmony with
each other. For the promise of pro-
tection here given, comp. chap. xxxi. 5.

36. That the term azgel was ever
figuratively employed by the Hebrews
to designate any agent in the material
world cannot be proved, though it has
become almost fashionable in inter-
preters to assert it. We are not,
therefore, at liberty to assign any
other signification to it here, than
that which it ordinarily bears ; viz. a
celestial spirit employed as an instru-
ment of Divine providence. There is
nothing, however, to hinder us from
supposing that this extraordinary and
invisible agent employed secondary
or mediate causes, just as an angel
destroyed seventy thousand men by
the’ pestilence, 2 Sam. xxiv. 15, 16;
1 Chron, xxi. 14—18; or, as in the
case of Herod, in which it is said,
that “the angel of the Lord smote
him—and he was eaten of worms.”
Whether on the present occasion a
miraculous simoom, a supernatural
thunder-storm, or the plague λοίμικην
νόσον, Joseph. Antiq. x. i. 5, were the
means employed, we cannot, in the
absence of data, determine. While
there would be nothing miraculous in
such a number of men dying of the
plague,—it being a fact, related by
Jahn, Antiq. i. 2, p. 392, that in the
year 1580 it carried off about 500,900
persons at Cairo in the course of
seven months,—we cannot suppose it
possible for it to have destroyed
185,000 in one night, 2 Kings xix. 35,
except it had been brought about
through the intervention of a miracle.
A distorted account of this catastrophe

Then Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, broke

was given to Herodotus by the Egyp-
tian priests, who represented the
scene to have been Pelusium ; Vulcan,
the deity whose aid was invoked, and
whom the Egyptians identified with
the God of the Hebrews ; Sethos, the
monarch who invoked it; and field-
mice, the instruments by which the
army of Sennacherib were in one
night rendered powerless, and obliged
to take to flight the following morning.
The event was commemorated by a
stone statue of Sethos, in the temple
of Vulcan, with a mouse in his hand,
and the inscription, ES EME ΤΙΣ
‘OPEQN, EYSEBHS ESTQ, Let him who
looks on me, reverence the gods. Herod,
ii. 141. Michaelis is of opinion that,
as the mouse was the Egyptian hiero-
glyphic for destruction, Sethos held it
in his hand to indicate the miraculous
destruction of his enemy ; and that it
was either misconstrued by the priests,
or misunderstood by Herodotus. Vor-
rede to the second half of Isaiah, p.
xxxiL, and Anmerk. on chap. xix. p.
107. Comp. in illustration of this
verse, chap. x. 16, 32—34, xxix. 5, 6,
xxx, 30,33) Xxx1- Θὲ

37. For the accumulation ΟΣ YD"
aw), to express haste, comp. Cicero’s
abiit, excessit, evasit, erupit, in his de-
scription of the flight of Catiline.
It is implied in 1%), avd he dwelt, that
Sennacherib was not murdered imme-
diately on his return to Nineveh.
What authority Hales had for the
statement, that he was assassinated
fifty-five days after his arrival, | know
not; but, according to the extracts
from Berosus and Abydenos, in the
Armenian translation of Euseb. Chron.
1. p. 41, he still lived sixteen years ;
reduced the Babylonians to obedience,
who had rebelled under Elibus, the

CHAP. XXXVIII.]

ISAIAH.

309

38 up, and set off, and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. And it
came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch
his god, that Adrammelech and Sharetzer, his sons, slew him
with the sword, and made their escape into the country of Ara-
rat; and Esarhaddon, his son, reigned in his stead.

successor of Merodach Baladan ;
gained a victory over the Greeks in
Cilicia ; and founded the city of Tar-
sus. See Gesen. Comment. p. 999—
1002. Both Hitzig and Gesenius place
the year of his death in the year B.C.
696. When the prophet states that he
dwelt in Nineveh, his meaning is, that
he never after returned to Palestine.
Of his exploits elsewhere no. account
is taken, as they did not affect the
Jews.

38. 13, Nisroch, i.e. the great Eagle,

from 33, Arab. » » eagle, and the in-
tensive syllable J}, This bird the

ancient Persians held in peculiar vene-
ration, and regarded it as the symbol
of Ormuzd: it was likewise worship-
ped as a deity by the Arabs, before
the time of Mohammed. Of the two
royal parricides, Adrammelech was in
all probability the principal, and is the
only one mentioned by Berosus, under
the name of Ardumusanus. For
Ararat, see on chap. xiii. 4. The
LXX. translate ’Appevia. For an ac-
count of Hzar-haddon, see Winer’s
Realworterb. What ground Russell
has for asserting, in his Connexion of
Sac. and Prof. Hist., that he parti-
cipated in the guilt of his father’s
murder, does not appear.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

This chapter contains an account of the dangerous sickness of Hezekiah, 1—
3; the sign given him that his days should be lengthened, 4—8 ; his reco-
very, and the beautiful eucharistical ode which he composed after his resto-

ration to health, 9—22.

>

1 In those days Hezekiah was sick unto death ; and Isaiah the

1. The phrase 077 Ὁ, iz those
days, does not necessarily imply that
what follows took place at or before
the time of Sennacherib’s invasion ;
though this has been asserted by the
author of Seder Olam Rabba, Usher,
Lightfoot, Prideaux, Zwinglius, v. d.
Palm, Hendewerk, and others. On
the other hand, Calvin, Pareus, Pis-
cator, Le Clerc, Vitringa, Scheidius,
Rosenmiiller, Gesenius, and Winer,

maintain that it happened after the
retreat of the Assyrian monarch ; and
to this opinion I cannot but accede.
It is in the highest degree improbable,
that the king of Babylon, who was at
the time tributary to Sennacherib,
would have ventured to send a con-
gratulatory embassy to Hezekiah, if
he had not received previous infor-
mation of the defeat, chap. xxxix,
1. Comp. 2 Chron. xxxii. 22—24,

QQ

310

ISATAH. [CHAP. XXXVIII.

prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him, and said to him, Thus
saith Jehovah: Charge thy house; for thou shalt die, and not
live. Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed to
Jehovah, and said: O Jehovah! I beseech thee remember now
how I have walked before thee in truth, and with a perfect
heart, and have done that which was good in thy sight; and
Hezekiah wept exceedingly. Then the word of Jehovah came
to Isaiah, saying: Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith Jeho-
vah, the God of David thy father: I have heard thy prayer ;
I have seen thy tears; behold! I will add to thy days fifteen
years. And I will deliver thee, and this city, from the hand
of the king of Assyria; and I will protect this city. And
this shall be the sign to thee from Jehovah, that Jehovah will

.8 do the thing which he hath spoken.

Behold! I will cause

the shadow of degrees, which hath gone down, by the sun,

The promise, ver. 6, cannot be urged
as a valid objection, since it is merely
a repetition of that in chap. xxxvii.
35; and was given to remove from the
mind of the king all fear of future
attacks on the part of the Assyrians.
Dathe renders, Hodem illo anno; Dé6-
derlein, Circa hoc tempus. As, however,
Hezekiah reigned only twenty-nine
years, and fifteen of them were those
added to his life through the Divine
goodness, it is evident that his reco-
very must have happened in the course
of the remaining portion of the four-
teenth year of his reign—which was
that of the Assyrian invasion. For
the nature of his sickness, see on ver.
21. The words 42? 1, give charge to
thy house, is equivalent to our making
a last will: hence the Rabbin. “xx,
a will, or testament. Comp. 2 Sam.
XVii. 29.

2. The pious monarch turned to-
wards the wall by the side of which
his couch stood, that he might present
his prayer, undisturbed by what might
be passingin the chamber. See Lowth’s
note. Ina very different spirit Ahab
turned away his face, 1 Kings xxi. 4.

3. The terms, 090, perfect, and Nx,
truth,in this connexion, and frequently,
when used of the Jewish kings, have
a special reference to sincere endea-
vours to establish and maintain the
pure worship of Jehovah, in opposition

to all idolatrous intermixtures. Comp.
the Arab. pos integer a ποῖα et vitiis ;

lw, énteger vitii expers; »bw\\, religio
Y Pp ¢ Ly

, one addicted to

and professing the true faith, i.e. Is-

lamism.

4, The parallel passage in Kings is
fuller and more special.

6. See on ver. 1.

8. According to the longer narrative
in Kings, it was placed at the option
of Hezekiah, whether the shadow on
the dial should go forward ten degrees,
or go backward ten degrees ; the latter
of which he chose, as being the more
remarkable. With respect to the
niyo of Ahaz, it has been disputed
whether ὦ suz-dial introduced by that
monarch, or the steps leading up to his
palace, be meant. The former is the
rendering of the Chald. vw y2x, howr-
stone, and of Symm., and Jerome, ἐν
ὡρολογίῳ, in horologio; the latter,
that of the LXX. ἀναβαθμῶν, and

Saad. us! . None of the objec-

Muhammedica ;

tions that have been raised against
the existence of a dial at that time in
Jerusalem, are of any weight. Anaxi-
mander, to whom the Greeks ascribe
the division of time by hours, and the
introduction of the sun-dial, travelled

CHAP. XXXVIII.| .

on the dial of Ahaz, to go back ten degrees.

ISAIAH.

aid
And the sun

turned back ten degrees, by the degrees by which it had

gone down.

9 THE WRITING OF HEZEKIAH, KING OF JUDAH, WHEN HE HAD
BEEN SICK, AND HAD RECOVERED FROM HIS SICKNESS :

in Chaldea about the time of the
captivity, and very probably became
acquainted with both during his in-
tercourse with the Oriental astrono-
mers. Indeed, Herodotus expressly
states, ii. 109, that the Greeks obtained
the knowledge of the pole, the dial,
and the division of the day into
twelve parts, from the Babylonians.
It is not at all unlikely, that Ahaz,
who appears to have been fond of
foreign objects of art, 2 Kings xvi.
10, obtained a sun-dial from Babylon ;
and that it is to this, rather than to
any steps which he had caused to be
made, that reference is had in the
present case. The circumstance, too,
of the interest taken by the Baby-
lonians in the event of the retrogra-
dation of the shadow, confirms this
hypothesis. Elias Chomer, a Jewish
Rabbi, supposes the dial to have been
a concave hemisphere, having in the
middle a globe, the shadow of which
fell upon certain lines, which marked
the time. Of the length of the de-
grees we are not informed ; but that
they bore some proportion to the
length of the day is probable, from
the selection of the number ἔθη, rather
than fifteen,—that of the years which
Hezekiah was to live.

The infidel objection to the event,
derived from the motion of the sun
being opposed to the well-known con-
struction of the mundane system, is
at once met by the facts,—that there
is no more inconsistency in speaking
of the sun going back, than there is in
our speaking of his risizy and setting ;
and that what is called the sz in one
part of the verse, is called the shadow
in the other,—the cause, by a common
figure of speech, being put for the
effect. Nor is there any necessity for
supposing, that, on the occasion, the
earth was actually arrested in her
progress round the sun, and turned
so far back in a contrary direction as

to produce the difference in degrees
here specified: since all that was
necessary to produce the effect was
to bend, or cause a change in the
direction of the rays of light, so as to
make them retrograde on the dial.
Partial phenomena of this descrip-
tion have been observed in modern
times. On the 27th of March, 1703,
P. Romauld, prior of the cloister at
Metz, made the observation, that,
owing to such a refraction of the solar
rays in the higher regions of the
atmosphere, in connexion with the
appearance of a cloud, the shadow on
his dial deviated an hour and a half.
The production of such a phenomenon,
on a scale of such magnitude, how-
ever, as that stated by Isaiah, could
not but be regarded as a remarkable
interposition of Divine power; and
the foreknowledge of it, on the part of
the prophet, must have been strictly
miraculous. The words, wow 20m)
nya wy, And the sun went back ten
degrees, are wanting in three of Ken-
nicott’s MSS., and originally in two
of De Rossi’s: they are likewise
omitted in the Syr.; but their omis-
sion, and that of wown, ¢he suv, in the
Kénigsberg Cod., is most probably an
emendation. This last word, however,
does not occur in Kings.

9. This eucharistical ode of Heze-
kiah, which is wanting in Kings, is
distinguished for its peculiar sweet-
ness and tenderness; the plaintive
tone which pervades it ; and the ex-
treme conciseness of its style. “ Est
autem carmen hoc cum primis doctum
et elegans.” Zwinglius. It chiefly
describes the state of his feelings
during his sickness. Of its genuine-
ness and authenticity there can exist
no doubt. That this pious king was
fond of poetry appears from Proy.
xxy. 1; so that there is every reason
to regard the > in wp) as the Lamed
Auctoris, 31920, LXX. προσευχὴ, but

812

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XXXVIII.

10 I said: In the meridian of my days I shall enter the gates of

Sheol ;

I am deprived of the residue of my years.
11 I said: I shall no more see JAH,

JAH in the land of the living ;
I shall no more behold man,

With the inhabitants of the world.

the Alex. Cod. δὴ : οἱ λοι. γραφὴ: a
song committed to writing, with a
view to commemorate the Divine
goodness. The reader will do well to
consult on this ode the very learned
Dissertatio Philologico-Exegetica of
Ever. Scheid., Lugd. Batav. 1769, 8vo.

10, ‘273, Vulg. ἐμ dimidio, a figurative
mode of expression, taken from the
apparent stationary position of the
sun at noon. This idea, the LXX.
doubtless meant to express, when
they rendered ἐν τῷ ὕψει, though
Jerome thinks they mistook the 7 for
a. The root is 23, ¢o be silent, rest,

&c. Comp. Gieuhar. ἜΝ ἘΝ
ἐντὶ SS ες» spoken of “the sun

when he stands in the midst of
heaven.” It is equivalent to the
Greek, ἐν τῇ μεσημβρίᾳ τοῦ βίου, and
our “meridian of life.” Coverdale:
in my best age. 'Tingstadius : lefnads-
middag. Wezekiah, reflecting that, at
the age of thirty-nine, he had only,
as it were, reached the mid-day of
human life, (see Ps. xc. 10,) laments
the prospect of early death. This in-
terpretation is preferable to that
adopted by Gesenius and others, who
render, “in the tranquillity of my days ;”
as the corresponding member of the
parallelism shews. On xv, Sheol, see
chap. v. 14. ΠΕ, I am visited, 1. 6.
punished, as it respects the residue
of the years I might have lived ; de-
prived of them. See for the Accus.
as here used, Ewald, § 482. Some
render, 7 shall be missing, which is not
contrary to Hebrew usage.

11. ™ occurs only once in three of
De Rossi’s MSS. and in the Syr. ; and
two Codices have originally read 717 ;
but there can be no doubt, from the
tone of the poem, that the repetition

is genuine. Comp. the repetition of
“9, ver. 17, and of ‘0, ver. 19. The
vision of God, to which Hezekiah
here refers, was the contemplation of
the Divine glory in the temple. He
had taken great pains to restore the
temple-worship, and anticipated, with
pious delight, those manifestations of
the presence of Jehovah, which he
had promised to his assembled people.
The loss of this privilege he here
deplores. Comp. Ps. xxvii. 4, Lxiii. 2,
and the Note on chap. xxxiii. 17. The
LXX. have τὸ σωτήριον τοῦ Θεοῦ,
“the salvation of God,” (see on xl. 5,)
—as if they considered the appear-
ance of Messiah to have been the
object of his vision. “The land of
the living” is contrasted with Sheol,
the state of the departed. That 577,
which occurs only here, is to be ren-
dered, place of cessation or rest, and ap-
plied to the grave, as Vitringa,
Scheidius, Rosenmiiller, v. d. Palm,
Gesenius, Winer, Hitzig, and others,
maintain, the parallelism seems abso-
lutely to forbid—17 Δ, correspond-
ing so exactly to oT px. I cannot,
therefore, but agree with those inter-
preters who consider 777 to be identical
in meaning with 137; especially as
the only difference consists in a trans-
position of the letters 7 and 9; and
the precisely similar phrase, 177 20,
occurs Ps. xlix.2. For other instances
of transposition, comp. 2) and 203,
3 and %2D, Fw and AY. For ὙΠ,

comp. the Arab. WS, perennavit, et
sempiternus fuit ; S\%, perennitas, secu-
lum, D3%, world. Thus here Saad.
Lo} ; and the Chald. sx, the earth.

LXX. ἐπὶ γῆς. Tingstad, cbland verl-
dens inbyggare. Six MSS. read ὑπ;
and four more have done so at first.

CHAP. ΧΧΧΥΠΙ.]

ISAIAH.

313

12 My habitation is plucked up, and removed from me,

Like the tent of a shepherd ;

I roll up, like a weaver, my life ;
From the thrum he cutteth me off;
From morning to night thou makest an end of me.

13

I compose myself till the morning,

Then, like a lion, he breaketh in pieces all my bones ;
From morning to night thou makest an end of me.
14 Like the swallow and the crane I twitter ;

I moan like the dove ;

12. 7, ὦ circle, dwelling, tent, &c.
Arab. le, the same, from 7, ye to

move round in a circle, be round, &c., to
live in a circular tent, or in tents
placed in a circular form ; in which
way the Nomades usually construct
their dwellings. D2 1s specially used
of pulling up the pins by which the
cords of a tent have been fixed to the
ground, comp. chap. xxxill. 20; and
m3, to uncover, remove, &c., in applica-
tion to the removal of the cloth or
covering of the tent, &c. “ Nomadee
quum pascua mutant, tabernacula
convolyunt atque abeunt.” Zwinglius.
Comp. for the figure Jer. iv. 20, x. 20;
2 Cor. v.1; 2 Pet. i. 183—15. It was
very common for the Hebrews and
other Orientals to speak of the body
as atent. It was regarded not as the
proper person, but merely his tempo-
rary habitation. Comp. 2 Cor. v. 1;
2 Pet. 1. 13,14. °29, from me, is empha-
tic, in the same view of the subject.
5, pastoralis, Winer. ° added to
words, sometimes expresses a quality
or attribute ; as "122, 22771. See Gesen.
Lehrgeb. p. 524—Hezekiah next com-
pares the finishing of his life to the
rolling up of a web, which, when
finished, is cut off from the thrum.

1p, Arab. 28, to contract, roll up, &e.

Tingstadius: Jag vicklar thop. This
was all that was left for the monarch
to do, since God had, to all appear-
ance, cut short his days. Comp. Job
vi. 9. 21 properly signifies what hangs
down, such as hair from the head,
threads, thrums, and the like. Comp.
Song vii. 6. The nomin. to ws» and

to 12%, in the following verse, is 71,
understood. Recognising the Divine
hand in what had taken place, he ad-
dresses himself directly to the Most
High, in words which are repeated at
the close of the following verse. For
the phrase, ΠΣ ἽΝ oY, which means
the whole day, comp. ἐξ ἡμέρας eis νύκτα,
Eurip. Here. Fur. 503. oY is here
used instead of 773, the beginning of
the day. Coverdale : iz one day.

13. 718, to be even, equal; in Piel, to

make level, even; Arab. Vw, aquare,

componere,—to compose one’s-self: in
full, wa) mw, Ps. cxxxi. 2.. The king
endeavoured to allay his fears and
take rest during the night, hoping
that the following morning would
bring him relief; but when day re-
turned, his malady raged with greater
violence than ever. Comp. Job x. 16.
While 3 corresponds to the 3 in 3,
as in ver. 14, it likewise marks the
apodosis.

14, Ὅν DD, forms an asyndeton, as
in TY wy, Hos. vi. 3; TY Wor, Hab.
iii. 11. There is also an ellipsis of the
> of comparison before the latter
word, Comp. Jer. viii. 7, WP) DxD,
where the use of the copulative shews
that by Ὅν we are not to understand
the swallow itself, as expressing the
gyrations made by that bird in flying,
but some other bird of passage. That
it signifies the grws or crane, Bochart
has satisfactorily proved, ili. 68—80 ;

deriving it from the Arab. π΄: aufugit
ad suos, quibus adsuevit. The Chald.
has 372; Saad. ees , both having

514

ISATAH.

[CHAP, XXXVIII.

Mine eyes fail with looking upward ;
O Jehovah! I am oppressed; undertake for me.

15 What shall I say ?

He hath both made a promise to me, and performed it.

Τ will walk humbly all my years,
Because of the bitterness of my soul.

16 O Lord! by these men live ;

And entirely through them is the life of my spirit ;
Yea, thou hast restored me, and made me to live.

the same signification. For 01, three
MSS., and originally two more, have
DD, Theod. ois, which Jahn states to
be orientalium lectio. 'The word is ono-
matopoetic,—expressing the sound
made by the swallow. Hence also the
Italian, Zisil/a. Both birds are noted
for the circles and evolutions which
they make in the air, and their noise
when setting out on their journeys.
This noise is here expressed by )¥52,
which, though more applicable to the
twitter of the swallow, may also de-
scribe the call-note of the crane. See
on chap. viii. 19. There is peculiar force
and beauty in the comparison here
made between the dying believer and
migratory birds, about to take their
departure to a distant and more genial
clime. They linger in the scenes
which they have frequented; but
they are impelled by instinct to re-
move. The plaintive note of the
dove is again referred to, chap. lix. 11;
Ezek. vii. 16. It occurs frequently in
Eastern poetry. NY signifies fo engage
tn behalf of another, pledge one s-self for
him, and by implication, deliver him.
15. Here begins the second half of
the ode, in which Hezekiah attempts
to give expression to the rapturous
feelings of gratitude with which he
was oppressed. When he was at the
last extremity, he received the Divine
promise that he should recover, and
he had now experienced its fulfilment.

As the verb, Arab. Jolo, Zo go slowly,

is used, as here, in Hithpael, Ps. xlii.
5, in the sense of walking in slow and
solemn procession to the temple, some
think that the pious king declares it
to be his intention, as long as he
lived, to go up to the house of God to

give thanks for his deliverance. Thus
the Chald. ‘Mi27p, Dts Mex, “T will
worship and pay my vows before
him.’ Schmidius, Vitringa, Hoheisel,
Dathe, and Rosenmiiller, approve of
this interpretation ; but it is decidedly
forced ; as is also recogitabo, reputabo,
reflect, meditate, &e., of the Vulg.,
Jerome, Lowth, and others. There
seems rather to be in the word the
expression of a pious resolution ever
after to “walk humbly with God,”
Mic. vi. 8, ὅν, on account of, or, induced
by a consideration of the deep afflic-
tion with which he had been visited, as
the chastisement of his sins. It is the
opposite of wz, which signifies to
walk in a stately, independent man-
ner; and is equivalent to ox 77, 1
Kings xxi. 27.

16. The pronominal affixes, 07 and
17, being of both genders, express the
number and diversity of the Divine
benefits, and refer to these as the sub-
jects implied in ὍΝ and Avy. Both v
and 3 indicate the instrumental or
efficient cause. Comp. Gen. xxvii.
40; Deut. viii. 3. For 73, which is
the reading of all De Rossi’s MSS,
nine of Kennicott’s read 07; most
probably the result of a grammatical
correction. %22 is connected, accord-
ing to the syntax, with 17 "7; the 772
being merely interjected to give ease
to the composition, as ™, Gen. vii. 6;
ty, 2Sam.1.9; Job xxvii. 3. 2090,
though put in the Fut. to mark the
succession of the event, in reference
to the past condition of the royal pen-
man, is to be understood as a Preter. ;
and the following Imper., ΠῚ, is, ac-
cording to rule, to be rendered in the
same sense. Comp. ™—%2m, Gen.
xx, 7; MoM—nwy2, Josh. ix. 20,

CHAP. XXXVIII.]

ISATAH.

315

17 Behold! my bitter anguish is changed into ease ;
And in love to my soul, thou hast delivered me from the pit of

decay ;

Fcr thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
18 Verily, Sheol cannot praise thee ;

Death cannot celebrate thee ;

Those that descend to the pit cannot hope for thy truth.
19 The living, the living shall praise thee, as I do this day ;
The father to the children shall announce thy truth.

17. Lit. “Behold! turned into
soundness was my great bitterness.”
That 9 is employed to denote a tran-
sition or change from one state into
another, see Gesen. Heb. Lex. (9, A) 3;
so that there is no necessity, with
Dathe, Cube, and others, to regard
19, in either of the two instances in
which it here occurs, as a finite form
of the verb 1, to change,—a con-
struction forced in itself, and at
variance with the spirit of the ode,
which requires the latter 1 to be

simply a repetition of the former, for .

the sake of emphasis. Comp. ver. 11
and 19.—72 ‘Sb Pe is pregnant in
meaning: “Zhou hast loved me, and
effected my deliverance from,’ &c.

Comp. the Arab. (jac, amore flagravit,

adhesit. Nearly the same words occur
Job xxxili. 18, ΠΤ Wp] Jw; but
the signification of ΤΠ is so fully
established, that we are not at liberty
to change it into 727, as Chappelow
‘suggests in his Note on this passage
in Job. 23, consumption, decay ; from
m3, fo fuil, waste, come to nothing.

Arab. 58 trita et consumpta fuit
vestis. coll do ert 9) et depascit

eos vermis consumptionis. Hist. Tam.
p. 322.—To cast any person or thing
behind one’s back, is a mode of speech
common among the Orientals to ex-
press oblivion. See 1 Kings xiv. 9;
Nehem. ix. 26; and comp. the Arab.

ye , with », post tergum rejecit, obli-
tus, non curavit res. r kalo a>,

oblitus fuit, nec curavit rem necessariam.

In reference to crimes, it means to
forgive them. Thus Harir. Consess.

XXXiv. Cell ws υ J yg Kies ts
Ls ἰὼ, And I cast his deeds behind my

back, though they were most atrocious.
Comp. Micah vii. 19. Its opposite is
to place any thing before the face,
meaning to observe, or keep in view
for punishment. See Ps. xe. 8, cix.
14,15; Jer. xvi. 17; Hos. vii. 2.

18. 388 and ny, the LXX. pro-
perly interpret, of ἐν ἄδου, and οἱ
ἀποθανόντες. Before ΠῚ repeat N%.
The meaning of this, and similar
passages in the Psalms, is not, that
the departed have no conscious exist-
ence, or active employments in
another world, but that they take no
further part in the concerns of the
present life. ‘Those who have entered
the invisible world no longer enjoy
any opportunities of glorifying God
upon earth; nor do they experience
the fulfilment of his promises re- °
specting temporal good. Devoted as
the pious Jews were to the temple-
worship, to which 777 and 557 parti-
cularly refer, they regarded a com-
plete removal from it by death as a
grievous calamity. Comp. Eccles. ix.
10. Τοῖς γὰρ ἔτι ζῶσι τοῦτο ποιεῖν
padiov? οἱ γὰρ τεθνέωντες ἔξω τῆς
ἐμπορίας γεγένηνται, Theodor. on Isa.
XxXxvili. 18.

19. For ΤΠ, see ver. 11 and 17.
One of Kennicott’s MSS., another of
De Rossi’s originally, and the Com-
plut. Polyg. read nx instead of ὅν,
but the preposition is without doubt
genuine,—being often used after verbs
of speaking, publishing, &c. See Gen,
xx, 2 3. Ps. di. 7; Jor. Σ]..16;

810

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XXXIX.

20 Jehovah was ready to deliver me ;
Therefore will we strike my stringed instruments
All the days of our life in the house of Jehovah.

21

22 and apply it to the ulcer, and he shall recover.

Now, Isaiah had said: Let them take a cake of dried figs,

Hezekiah also

had said: What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of

Jehovah ?

20. The 5 before the Infir. absolute
is sometimes used to denote the con-
tinuance of an action, Gen. ii. 3; or
simply the Fut., Prov. xix. 8.

21, 22. According to 2 Kings xx.
7, 8, these verses should come in
somewhere after ver. 6; and Lowth
and Boothroyd insert them partly
after the 6th, and partly after the
8th ; but, from the peculiar manner
in which they are worded, it seems
pretty evident that they have not
been placed here by transposition,
and that they are not to be ascribed
to the negligence of a transcriber ;
but owe their place to Isaiah him-
self, who, after inserting the ode of
Hezekiah, recollected that what is
here added was necessary to complete

the narrative. myo, Arab. c rp ἐμ-

-τὸ

unxit et emollivit corpus oleo, to rub
ointment into a wound, apply what is
mollifying, &. From the particular
mention made of pm, the ulceration,
which appeared on the body of Heze-
kiah, it has, with considerable pro-
bability, been concluded that the
disease with which he was afflicted
was the plague. This disease is not
only characterised by entire prostra-
tion of strength, and great mental
depression, but also by certain local
symptoms, as buboes, carbuncles, and
livid spots, which discharge offensive
matter, and often reach deep into the
system. The application of the cata-
plasm was to produce suppuration,
Hezekiah’s recovery was so rapid, that
on the third day he was able to go up
to the temple, 2 Kings ax. 5. ,

CHAPTER XXXIX.

This chapter contains an account of the embassy sent by the king of Babylon,
to congratulate Hezekiah on his recovery, 1; the ostentatious display
which he made of his royal establishment, 2; his reproof by the prophet
Isaiah, 3,4; a prediction of the captivity, 5—7; and the king’s acquies-
cence in the announcement thus made to him, 8.

1 AT that time, Merodach Baladan, son of Baladan, king of
' Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah; for he had

1. The name, 13 JINN, Merodach-
Baladan, Winer and Von Bohlen de-

rive from the Persic, yok Soyo»

vir laudatus; but Gesenius, with
_greater probability, regards it as a

compound of JI, Mars, the great
slaughterer, from wore? to die, corre-
sponding to the Persic, ΟΝ , over
throwing men, a hero; 7, Belus, the

CHAP. XXXIX. |

ISATAH.

317

2 heard that he had been sick, and had. recovered. And Heze-
kiah was delighted with them, and shewed them his treasury,
the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious oil, and
the whole of his armoury, and all that was found among his
treasures. There was nothing in his house, or in the whole

3 of his dominion, which Hezekiah did not shew them.

Then

came Isaiah the prophet to king Hezekiah, and said to him:

What have these men said ;

and whence came they to thee ?

And Hezekiah said: They came to me from a distant country,

chief god of the Babylonians; and
Tx, Adon, Adonis, the Pheenician name
of a deity. Two MSS. read 77893, as
in 2 Kings, and a few have 7119,
TWN, or ἽΝ το. Merodach is men-
tioned Jer. 1. 2, as. one of the gods of
the Babylonians, and the name was
borrowed by their kings, as Lvi/-
merodach, Mesessimordachus, Sitsimorda-
chus. The ruler here referred to is
the Mardocampad of Ptolemy, who
reigned from the year B.c. 721 to 709 ;
and is mentioned by the name of
Marodach-Baladan in the passage from
Berosus, preserved in the Armenian
version of Eusebius’s Chronicle. He
is there stated to have slain Acises,
who had usurped the Babylonian
rule after the brother of Sennacherib.
See Gesen. zz Joc. Baladan, the father,
Usher takes to be Belesis, or Nabo-
nassar, from whom the celebrated
Babylonian era took its name. Ac-
cording to 2 Chron. xxxii. 31, the
object of the embassy to Hezekiah
was not merely to congratulate him
on his recovery, but also to make
particular inquiry respecting the ΠΕΡῚ,
prodigy, which had taken place in the
land of Judah. This prodigy Scholz
thinks was the miraculous destruc-
tion of the Assyrians; but it was
more likely the horological pheno-
menon, since this was immediately
connected with the recovery of Heze-
kiah, and must have been a subject
of great interest to the astronomers
of Babylon. The delivery of presents
by the ambassadors was quite in ac-
cordance with Oriental practice.

2. 7322, his treasury, or store-
house, in which were laid up the
precious articles belonging to the
crown. As 85) occurs Gen. xxxvii.

25, and xliii. 11, in application to
some kind of spice, it has been sup-
posed by many that 752 15. 80 to be
understood in the present passage.
Thus Aq. τὸν οἶκον τῶν ἀρωμάτων
αὐτοῦ. Vulg. cella aromatum. On the
other hand, the Chald. “423 ™3, the

Syr. ap Ded» the Arab. ew
ale, and Saad. sploo Ly), take

it to signify treasury ; and, from the
enumeration immediately following,
this would seem to be the right in-
terpretation ; especially, as Ὁ, aro-
mata, form one of the items dis-
tinctly specified. The etymology 15
uncertain; but that proposed by
Lorsbach, Jena Algem. Lit. Zeit.
1815, No. 59, which traces the word
in the Persic, _ wal, depositum, 15
the most approved. For the armoury,
see chap. xxii. 8. The hereditary
treasures of Hezekiah must have
been greatly increased by the spoils
of the Assyrian camp; but, instead
of gratefully acknowledging to the
Pagan ambassadors the hand of Jeho-
vah in his deliverances, the vanity of
his mind led him to make an osten-
tatious display of his state, and thus
to provoke the Divine displeasure.
He seems likewise to have been desi-
rous of commending himself to the
favourable regard of the king of
Babylon, with a view to an alliance
with him against the Assyrians. All
such foreign alliances being repug-
nant to the fundamental principle of
the theocracy, the prophet virtually
denounces them in the following
verses.

R. R

318

ISATAH. [CHAP. XIx

4 even from Babylon. Then he said: What have they seen
in thy house? And Hezekiah said: All that is in my house
have they seen; there is nothing among my treasures which

5 I have not shewed them. Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah:

6 Hear the word of Jehovah of Hosts: Behold, the days are
coming when all that is in thine house, and what thy fathers
have treasured up to this day, shall be carried away to

7 Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith Jehovah. And of thy
sons, who shall proceed from thee, whom thou shalt beget,
shall they take away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace

8 of the king of Babylon.

And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, Good
is the word of Jehovah, which thou hast spoken.

He said,

moreover, There shall be peace and truth in my days.

7. That the kings of Babylon prided
themselves in having youths of noble
and royal blood for attendants, ap-
pears from Dan. 1. 3, ὅσ. oom, I
have rendered in the usual way by
eunuchs, Since this is strictly the
meaning of the word, and most of
those who were appointed to fill con-
fidential stations about the persons
of Eastern princes were emasculated.
See Winer’s Realwort. art. “ Versch-
nittene,” p. 760. How exactly was
the prediction here given fulfilled!
2 Kings xxiv. 12—16; Dan. i. 1—7.
Yet nothing could be more impro-
bable at the time of its delivery.
The king of Babylon was himself a
vassal of Assyria; and though, on
occasion of the defeat of Sennacherib,
he might cherish the hope of inde-
pendence, yet no human foresight
could have determined the conquests
of Nebuchadnezzar, or the captivity

of the persons and treasures of the
house of David.

8. Hezekiah has been unjustly ac-
cused of egotism, or a blameworthy
self-love, in the declaration which he
here makes. It is nothing more than
the expression of submissive acqui-
escence in the Divine appointment,
accompanied with a grateful joy, that
undisturbed prosperity was to be
granted throughout the remainder of
his reign. The repetition of 128", aud
he said, without its being added to
whom the words were addressed, is
supposed by some to indicate that he
spake to himself, there being an
ellipsis of 4222 ; but the ordinary con-
struction of the passage is more
natural. mx) dd, peace and truth,
are not to be taken as a hendiadis.
The former is used to signify pros-
perity in general; the latter, the
prevalence of true religion.

CHAPTER XT,

The portion of the book which begins with this chapter embraces the entire
period from the restoration of the Hebrews from the Babylonish captivity,

to the end of the Christian dispensation.

The subjects more particularly

treated of are the deliverance of the Jews from Babylon; their return to

CHAP. XL.] ISAIAH. 319

Judea, and the re-establishment of their ancient polity ; the appearance,
work, sufferings, death, glorification, and reign of the Messiah ; the down-
fall of idolatry, and the enjoyment of the blessings of salvation by the
Gentiles ; and the final recovery of the Jewish people. Having, in chap.
xxxix. 6, 7, predicted the captivity, Isaiah, with a view to console his
nation, delivers the prophetic discoveries which, in perspective vision,
he obtained of the remarkable interposition of Divine providence for
their deliverance. To this subject he continually reverts in the course of
the first twelve chapters, after digressing to touch on the coming of the
Messiah, and the establishment of his kingdom, to which the restoration
from captivity was to be subservient. His exhibitions of the character
and government of Jehovah are the most sublime and magnificent to be
found in Scripture. The superiority which he evinces to the narrow spirit
of Jewish nationality, and the mere formal observance of the Jewish ritual ;
and the readiness with which he avails himself of every opportunity to
introduce the Gentiles to a joint participation in the benefits of true
religion, argue the influence of principles, the full development of which is
only to be found in the Christian economy. The Spirit of Christ, which
was in him, not only disclosed to his view those future temporal events
which affected his people, but pre-eminently, above and beyond them, “the
sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.”

It has for some time past been fashionable among the German neologists to
deny the authenticity of this section of the book, and to ascribe it to some
anonymous writer, whom they suppose to have flourished about the time
of the restoration from Babylon. The first who directed his weapons against
it was Déderlein, who was followed by Justi, Eichhorn, Paulus, Rosenmiiller,
Bertholdt, De Wette, and, more recently, by Gesenius and Hitzig. On the
other hand, Piper, Beckhaus, Hensler, Jahn, Dereser, Greve, Moller, Kleinert,
and Lee, have more or less successfully undertaken its defence. The refer-
ences to their works will be found in the Christologie of Hengstenburg, 1
Theil. 2 Abtheil., who likewise treats the subject with great ability; or in a
Translation of this portion of it in the Amer. Bib. Repos. for Oct. 1831. See
also Horne’s Introd. vol. iv. pp. 165—169. The objections taken from the
historical circumstances of the prophecies; the impossibility of their being
understood by the contemporaries of Isaiah ; the position which the writer
assigns to himself among those who lived after the captivity; the minute-
ness of the details; the want of reference by Jeremiah ; traces of Chaldee
and later idiom ; and the diversity of style and phraseology, have been im-
partially weighed by these authors, especially by Jahn, Moller, Kleinert, and
Lee, and proved to be destitute of that importance which has been attached
to them, and totally insufficient to overturn the position against which they
have been brought forward. They are founded, partly and chiefly, on a
positive rejection of prophetic inspiration, partly on a misinterpretation of
particular passages, and partly on an undue pressing of a few minor points
of style, the character of which is quite compatible with the general manner
of Isaiah. Most of the hypotheses which have been framed in opposition to
the authenticity, are perfectly arbitrary and gratuitous, and are not for

920 ISATAH. [CHAP. XL.

a moment to be confronted with the overwhelming mass of evidence which
exists in favour of it. The principles which they involve are such as would
not for a moment be listened to were they applied in the critical treatment
of any Greek or Latin classic. The minutiz of idiom, &c., and such of the
arguments of the opponents as appear in any degree plausible, will be
noticed in the places in connexion with which they are adduced.

The subjects treated of in chap. xl. are, the restoration from Babylon, 1, 2; the
preparations for and actual appearance of the Messiah, 3—11; the incom-
parable superiority of Jehovah to idols, 12—21,; his infinite wisdom and
power displayed in creation, a ground of confidence to his people, 22—27 ;
and the encouragement which the disconsolate Jews had to expect deliver-
ance, 28—31. The majesty and sublimity of description which the prophet
here displays, and the elegance and beauty of the diction in which it is

clothed, are altogether unrivalled.

1 ComFort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
2 Speak soothingly to Jerusalem, and declare to her,

That her suffering is ended,
That her iniquity is expiated ;
That she hath received, at the

1. The persons immediately ad-
dressed are the public teachers of
religion. The LXX. supply ἱερεῖς,
priests; the Chald. 313, the prophets.
Both may be included, since there is
no reason for supposing, with Gesen.,
that there were no priests during the
captivity. Ezra ii. and Neh. xii. prove
the contrary ; and that they were in-
structors of the people, see Mal. ii. 7.
The repetition 1972 1912 gives intensity
to the address. No objection can be
more futile than that taken to the
authenticity of this part of the book
from such repetitions. Though the
identical words, such as 728 °28, 737 737,
may not occur in what all allow to be
the genuine Isaiah, yet similar repeti-
tions do. Comp. Ὁ τ, xxiv. 16;
Di OW, ΧΧΥΪ. 35 WIN WW, xxix. 1;
not to mention ™ ™, V2 V9, 7 Ὑπ, in the
song of Hezekiah. The use of the
pron, affix Dx, “your God,” en-
hances the consolation conveyed by
the address,

2. ayy, to speak according to the
heart, i.e. what is pleasing or delightful,
is equivalent to 03, ¢o comfort, in the
preceding verse. Comp. Zech. i. 13,

hand of Jehovah,

pam ὉΔῚ Ὁ O27, Dathe, dlande
alloquimini. The joyful message is an
announcement that the captivity into
which the Jews had been carried, as a
punishment for their sins, is ended.
The verbs are all in the Preterite, to
express the certainty of the future
event. 823 1s properly military service ;
from 8212, to go forth to war ; by impli-
cation, hardship, privation, suffering, &c.
Comp. Job vii. 1, x. 17; Dan. x. 1.
PY TT means fo satisfy, or make compen-
sation for sin, by enduring punishment
on account of it, and has reference to
the delight with which the person
forgives against whom it has been
committed. Though no real moral
atonement can be made by sinners for
their transgressions, yet, in a civil or
national point of view, expiation was
admissible under the Jewish economy.
Comp. Lev. xxvi. 41, 48, and the fol-
lowing clause of the present verse.
0152, double, ample, full. Comp. Zech.
ix. 12; διπλόος, 1 Tim. v. 17; διπλώ-
care αὐτῇ διπλᾶ---κεράσατε αὐτῇ διπλοῦν,
Rev. xvii. 6. Most expositors under-
stand the recompense here spoken of
to be the blessings conferred upon the

CHAP. XL.|

Double for all her sins.

ISAIAH.

521

3 The voice of a herald in the wilderness :
Prepare ye the way of Jehovah ;
Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

4 Kvery valley shall be raised,

And every mountain and hill made low;
The crooked also shall become straight,

And the rough places plain.

5 And the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together:
For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.

Jews on their return; but the parallel-
/ism forbids this construction, and
shews that punishment is meant.
They had suffered such chastisement
as amply sufficed to clear the Divine
character, and correct them of the
great evil of idolatry. At the same
time respect was had to a// their sins.
Zwinglius, ‘ plenam castigationem.”
Calvin, “ Prophetam nihil aliud velle
constat quam Deum LEcclesiz \ sue
miseriis satis superque esse conten-
tum.” Coverdale, szffictent correction.
mim ΤῸ 7722 is elliptical for Dia mb, fo
take the cup,i.e. of punishment. See
chap. li. 22; Jer. xxv. 15; Lam. iv.
21,22. Perhaps 0°) may stand for
05 ΟἿΞ, ὦ double cup, or one twice filled.
The language is hyperbolical, and is
designed to inspire the strongest con-
solation.

3—5. Contemplating the Jews as
liberated from their captive state in
Babylon, and again settled in their
own land, the prophet announces the
ministry of John the Baptist, in his
character of herald and precursor of
the Messiah, whose advent he predicts
in the following verses. That the
entire passage refers to the introduc-
tion of the New dispensation appears,
first, because the words are expressly
quoted by three of the inspired evan-
gelists as receiving their fulfilment in
John, Matt. iii. 3; Mark. i. 3; and
Luke iii. 4—6 ; and, secondly, because
the way was to be prepared, not for
the Jews, but for Jehovah himself.
According to the LXX., Vulg., and
N.T., 12792 is to be connected with
xp, and not with 5. This division

of the words is likewise supported by
the accents,—Zakeph-gadol possessing
a greater power of separation than
Zakeph-katon ; and by the rule of
syntax, which requires that impera-
tives should precede any other word,
at the commencement of animated
discourse. That 27Y is not to be taken
in the acceptation of Azll or acclivity,
but in that of crooked, is evident, both
from the primary meaning of "9, its
opposite, and from the parallelism.
The language of these verses is other-
wise figurative; the images being
borrowed from the Oriental custom
of persons sent as pioneers before
a monarch, to cut through rocks and
forests, fill up hollows, and remove
every impediment out of his way,
especially in desert countries. See
Diod. Sic. ii. 18; Arrian’s Alex. iv.
30; Lowth, zz /oc.; and especially
Horne’s Introduction, vol. ili. p. 94.
Such was the character of John’s
ministry. The wilderness in which it
was exercised was only faintly emble-
matical of the moral waste which the
Jewish church presented at the time.
Nothing less than a thorough μετάνοια
and ἀποκατάστασις was required to fit
her members for the reception of the
Messiah. See Matt. iii. 1—10; Mark
ix. 12. By mim 129 the LXX. appear
to have understood the promised
Saviour; adding at the end of the
verse, τὸ σωτήριον τοῦ Θεοῦ; which
Luke retains chap. iii. 6. This phrase
is thus metonymically used, Luke ii.
30, and in the Test. xii. Patr. pp. 542,
614. Comp. John i. 14; 2 Cor. iii.
18; Heb. i. 2. Such is doubtless the

322

6 A voice said, Proclaim!

ISATAH.

(CHAP. "KL.

And I said, What shall I proclaim ?—

All flesh is grass, and all its goodness as the flower of the field ;
7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth,

For the breath of Jehovah bloweth upon it:

Surely the people is grass.

8 The grass withereth; the flower fadeth ;

But the word of our God shall stand for ever.
9 Get thee up upon a high mountain,

Thou that publishest good news to Zion ;

Raise powerfully thy voice,

Thou that publishest good news to Jerusalem.

Raise it; be not afraid ;

Say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
10 Behold! the Lord Jehovah shall come with might,

right construction ; though it was un-
justifiable in Lowth to adopt the
words into the text. In the 5th verse
the universality of the Christian dis-
pensation is clearly recognised. The
same formula of certainty occurring
chap. i. 20, identifies the authorship.
Comp. also chap. xxi. 17, xxii. 25.

6. Wa, flesh, is used metonymically
of all animated beings, but especially
of man; hence Wat, or Wr,
means all mankind, Gen. vi. 3, 12, 13;
Πᾶσα σὰρξ, John xvii. 2; Rom. iii. 20.
This and the two following verses
contain another proclamation, designed
to call off the attention of the Jews
from their confidence in human an-
cestry and merit, and direct it to the
Gospel, as furnishing the only solid
durable ground of hope. Comp. Matt.
iii. 9; Johni. 13, vi. 63 ; Rom. ii. 28,
29, iv.¥,° 2; 2.Cor iv. 16, 173 and’ 1
Pet. i. 23—25, where the words are
quoted and applied. 57, Gesenius
understands to be grace, elegance, or
beauty ; but it is rather to be taken in
a moral sense, as expressive of that
imaginary excellence, or righteousness,
on the ground of which men are
prone to advance a claim on the
Divine favour, See Rom. x. 3; Ting-
stadius, godhet. Comp. 7017 ὍΝ, chap.
lvii. 1, where the word is used of
genuine piety, or true moral excellence.
The LXX. omit ora vs7 ἸῸΝ; and

Koppe and Hitzig consider them to be
a gloss; but the emphasis in 097, fhe,
i.e. this people, meaning the Jews,
shews that they were quite in their
place.

9. ΤῈ Mwin, Ke. are not in apposi-
tion, as if Zion were the subject, but
the genitive of object. The announce-
ment was to be made /o the Jews, not
by them. The feminine form of the
participle is accounted for on the
principle, that in the Oriental lan-
guages terminations of that gender
are not unfrequently employed in
words denoting office, station, &c.; as
np, @ preacher ; N78, a scribe; Arab.

caus, successor; exxls, creator, &e.

The vehemence here ascribed to the
publishers of the message shews that
females cannot be intended. The
purport of the message is the appear-
ance of God in the person of Messiah,
which had been predicted ver. 3, and
is here repeated for the sake of
amplification in the following verses.
The prophet employs the Divine
names 77, ‘278, and OWN, specifically
with this reference. Comp. chap. ix.
6; Jer. xxiii, 6; Mal. iii. 1; Ps. xlv.
6; Luke i. 15—17; Dr. J. Pye Smith’s
Script. Test. vol. 11. pp. 33—43.

10, 11. These verses exhibit certain
attributes of the character and work
of Christ ; such as power, tenderness,

CHAP. XL.|

ISATAH. 323

And his arm shall rule for him ;
Behold! his reward is with him,
And his recompense before him.

11

He shall feed his flock like a shepherd ;

He shall gather the lambs in his arms,

And carry them in his bosom ;

He shall gently lead the milk-giving ewes.

12

Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand ;

And meted the heavens with a span ;
And comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure ;
And weighed the mountains in scales,

And the hills in a balance ?
13

Who hath meted the Spirit of Jehovah ?

Or, being His counsellor, hath taught Him ?

14

With whom took He counsel, that He should instruct Him,

And teach Him in the path of judgment ;

Or teach Him knowledge,

And make Him acquainted with the way of understanding ?

and love. The 2 in pia is the Beth
essentie. See on chap. xxvi.4. Tv
is not here to be taken in the sense of
work, but of the effect, reward, &c. of
work. It is merely a synonyme of
Ὁ. Comp. Lev. xix. 13; Ps. cix. 20.
) is the Dativus commodi: which
shews that the reward and recompense
following are not those which the
Messiah would bestow on others, but
his own—what he had himself
merited; the only sense, indeed, of
which ποὺ will admit. Comp. chap.
xlix. 4, 1111. 12; Phil. 11. 8—11; Heb.
li. 9, 10. ‘mx and v2) indicate the
absolute certainty of the rewards.
The figures here borrowed from pas-
toral life are exquisitely beautiful ;
expressing, with the utmost elegance
of language, the infinite care and
tenderness of “the good Shepherd.”
He not only exercises a sovereign and
uncontrollable power for the defence
of his sheep, John x. 28, but attends
to the weak and feeble, tenderly
carries the young in his bosom, and
gently guides such as give suck, that
they may not be overdriven. Comp.
Gen. xxxiii. 13; Numb. xi. 12; 2
Sam. xii. 3; Isa. xlvi. 3, 4. By oxo
are meant lambs of such tender age as

still to be dependent on the ewes for
sustenance. Root ny, Syr. UY, to

ἫΝ properly signifies fo
give milk ; Arab. se, aluit familiam

suam; kel, sustentavit ; le; lactavit.

12. Now follows a sublime and mag-
nificent description of “the True God
and Eternal Life,’ who was to appear
in the cities of Judah. The connexion
proves that the same person is in-
tended who had just been spoken of
by the prophet. wv, Aq. τρισώμῳ,
Symm. τρίτῳ, a measure, containing
the ¢hird part of a larger one ; but of
what quantity does not appear. That
it must have been small, the spirit of
the passage requires. The verse sets
forth the wisdom and power of God
in the disposition and sustentation of
the different parts of the universe.
Comp. Job xxxviii.

13, 14. The knowledge of the Divine
Spirit is boundless and independent.
y2m seems to be taken in the same sense
as in the preceding verse. Symm.
ἡτοίμασε; the LXX.betteréyvw. The
interrogative forms imply, as usual,
strong negation. The words are in
part quoted Rom. xi. 34, in application

be new, young.

524

ISATAH.

[CHAP.

15 Behold! the nations are as a drop of the bucket,
And are accounted as the small dust on the balance ;
Behold! He taketh up the maritime lands as an atom.

16

Yea, Lebanon is not sufficient for fuel ;

Nor are its beasts for a burnt-offering.

ily

All nations are as nothing before Him ;

They are accounted by Him less than nothing and void.

18

To whom then can ye liken God ?

Or, what likeness can ye compare unto Him ?

19

The workman casteth an image,

And the smith overlayeth it with gold ;
The smith also beateth out silver chains.

20

He that is too poor to bring an oblation,

Chooseth a tree that will not rot ;
He seeketh for himself a skilful workman,
To erect an image that shall not be moved.

21 Have ye not known?

to the unfathomable wisdom displayed
in the arrangements of the gospel
dispensation. .

15. Godisimmense. In how familiar
yet forcible a manner is this truth
here illustrated! What we call the
immensity of creation is nothing in
comparison of Him. 19, a drop or
tear ; from 9, to flow, distil. pre, Arab.

ae » fricando trivit, comminuit in pul-

verem, to pound to dust ; a particle of
what is thus pounded. 77, in like
manner, signifies the most minute
particle or atom ; from 77, to beat into
minute parts, Zwinglius, very forcibly,
atomi umbra. For 0°, see on chap.
xi. 11. The connexion here obviously
requires the idea of large and extensive
regions.

16. To the Jews, who were familiar
with the vast forests of Lebanon, and
the abundance of animals which it sus-
tained, the image here employed must
have possessed great force. The Divine
nature is such that no finite sacrifice
is adequate to satisfy its claims on
the guilty. Comp. Ps. 1. 10—13.

17. carn, less than nothing, the idea
of little being suggested by the subject.
For other instances in which the ad-
jective is omitted before the com-

parative, see Noldii Concord. p. 466,
(6.) Comp. for the force of the ex-
pression, the ἐλαχιστότερος of Paul,
Eph. iii. 8. Gesenius, Hitzig and
Scholz render, from nothing ; but less
aptly. Comp. chap. xli. 24.

18. The Hebrew Future is often
potential in signification.

19, 20. If the entire creation is
nothing in comparison of God, how
absurd to invest a piece of metal, or
a block of wood, with the attributes
of divinity ; or even merely to regard
such as an image of him! In the
former of these verses is described the
costly idol of the rich ; in the latter,
that of the poor. ἩῪΝΣ is repeated in
order to add to the force of the irony ;
and Y72 is understood, only in the
acceptation of beating, to express the
making of chains. In many of the
Egyptian idols holes are found, through
which chains passed for the purpose
of suspending them on the wall. }2027
mann, lit. He that is impoverished as to
a gift ; one who is so poor that he has
nothing to present as an oblation, but
may obtain a piece of wood, such as
oak or cedar, fit to be an idol; and
thereby evince his sense of religion.

21. A spirited appeal to the in-
struction which the Jews had always

CHAP. XL. |

Have ye not heard ?

ISATAH.

525

Hath it not been told you from the beginning ?.
Have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth ?

22

He it is, that sitteth above the circle of the earth ;

The inhabitants of which are as grasshoppers ;
That stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain,
And spreadeth them as a dwelling-tent ;

23

That reduceth the princes to nothing ;

He maketh void the judges of the earth.

24

Scarcely are they planted; scarcely are they sown ;

Scarcely is their trunk rooted in the earth ;
And He seareely bloweth upon them, when they wither,
And, like stubble, the tempest carrieth them away.

Or may I be compared ?
Saith the Holy One.
26

To whom then can ye liken me?

Lift your eyes on high, and behold,

Who hath created these things ?

enjoyed respecting the Creator of the
world, and the knowledge of his eternal
power and Godhead, which all nations
had more or less the means of ac-
quiring, partly through tradition, and
partly through the contemplation of
the universe. Comp. Rom. i. 20, where
ἀπὸ κτίσεως, corresponds to ὙΠ NVDiN ;
before which supply the prepos, »from
the preceding OND.

22—24, Another sublime description
of the transcendent majesty of Je-
hovah. While unaffected by the re-
volutions of the celestial system, and
the meaner affairs of men, he regulates
and controls the whole of his vast
universe with infinite ease. From the
use of 31, circle, or sphere, here, and
Job xxvi. 10; Prov. viii. 27; it is
evident the ancients had a knowledge
of the spherical form of the earth. In
passages, such as the preceding verse,
where the foundations of the earth are
spoken of, the language is obviously
figurative, being borrowed from the
idea of a building, the commencement
of which is made by laying the foun-

dation. ὑπ, Arab. 99» subtilis, valde

minutus, properly signifies what is
made small, minute, by pounding, as

dust ; but it may also signify what-
ever is small either in size or quality ;
slender, fine, thin. It is here employed
to denote a tent-covering of superior
fineness, such as the rich Orientals
spread over their courts in summer.
Comp. Ps. civ. 2. As ἮΝ not merely
indicates addition, accession, but also
complement, fulness, &c., 92 7X ex-
presses what is zot wholly done, 7. 6.
scarcely : the negative being thus de-
prived of its absolute force. Calvin,
adeo ut. In such connexion, D3 is in-
tensive. The passage teaches the utter
frailty and imbecility of the oppressors
of the church of God: a truth full of
comfort to the Jews of the captivity,
and to all who are the subjects of
persecution.

25. The sudden introduction of Je-
hovah himself, as the speaker, has
an admirable effect, compared with
ver. 18.

26. OPPY Divaww. Comp. div? ΝΠ.
TPP, chap. xxxvii. 23. ED23, in num-
ber, i.e. numerously ; as 23, power-
fully ; 4223, gloriously, &c. ; and not
as Rosenmiiller interprets, “ zumero,
scil. certo suo et definito.” The re-
ference is to the overwhelming number
of the heavenly bodies. Thus Zwing-

ss

920

27

_ 29

ISATAH. [CHAP. XL.

He bringeth out their numerous army ;

He calleth them all by name; |

Through the greatness of his might, and the strength of his
arm ;

Not one is missing.

Why sayest thou, O Jacob! and speakest, O Israel :

My way is hid from Jehovah ;

And, My judgment hath passed away from my God ?

Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard ?

Jehovah is the Eternal God,

The Creator of the ends of the earth ;

He fainteth not, neither is weary ;

His understanding is unsearchable.

He giveth power to the faint ;

And to them that have no might,

He increaseth strength.
30

For the young men shall faint and be weary,

And the choice youths shall utterly fall ;

91

But they that wait upon Jehovah shall gain fresh strength ;

They shall soar on pinions like eagles:
They shall run and not become weary ;

lus, “ Numero, emphasis est pro
magno numero.” The survey of the
immense canopy of heaven, studded
with innumerable worlds, which, in
the brightness of an Oriental sky, the
naked eye could command in the
plains of Babylon, was calculated at
once to produce elevated conceptions
of the wisdom, power, and grandeur
of the Divine Being, and to inspire the
mind with unlimited confidence in his
protecting care. The figure is military,
taken from the muster which an army
passes before its general, who has
called it out to marshal and review it.
From the immense celestial army not
an individual is absent. Each star, and
each sun, of the hundreds of millions,
is always in its place. Considering
the proneness of the ancient Eastern
nations to worship the heavenly
bodies, it may also have been the
design of the prophet to shew the
folly of such worship, by asserting the
transcendent supremacy of Jehovah.
27. From this verse to the end of

the chapter, the prophet specially ap-
plies what he had adduced respecting
the majesty and power of God, to the
disconsolate Jews in Babylon ; com-
mencing with an expostulation on
account of their unbelief. They had
been so long in the power of their
enemies, that they concluded they
were quite overlooked by the God of
their fathers.

28. The Eternal and Immutable
Creator is incapable of exhaustion,
both as it respects power and wisdom.

30, 31. Those who trust in their
own prowess, and those who confide
in Jehovah, are here contrasted ; as
are also the different results of their
reliance. 159M, shall acquire new
strength, from *23, to pass out of one
place or state into another; Arab.

WANs, successor alicujus fuit, venit post
alium; IV. instauravit, regerminavit ;
Syr. Lau], the same ; ἀὰ nee , suc-

cessor, the calif, or successor of Mo-

CHAP. XLI.|

They shail walk and not faint.

hammed. It is chiefly used to denote
transition from an inferior state to
a better ; and specially to mental in-
vigoration. Comp. chap. xli.1. The
use of ὍΝ, pinion, from 728, to be strong,
shews that no reference is had to the
popular notion of the eagle’s renewing

ISATAH.

327

his youth ; the points of comparison
are his strength of wing and conse-
quent rapidity of flight. The former
idea, which many approve, appears to
have been borrowed from the LXX.,

1 Gun \
πτεροφυή σουσιν ὡς AETOL.

CHAPTER XLL

To confirm the faith of the captive Jews in the true God, and evince the folly
of idolatry, Isaiah now proceeds to predict the Divine commission and
victorious conquests of Cyrus, 1—4; together with the consternation of
idolaters at his approach, 5—7. He next encourages the Jews with as-
surances of the presence, protection, and aid, of the God of their fathers,
8—16 ; promises them every thing needful for their comfort and enjoyment,
on their return through the desert, 17—20 ; gives a spirited, but powerfully
ironical challenge to the idol-gods, to furnish proofs of their prescience and
power, 21—24; and again announces the mission of Cyrus, the previous
knowledge of which was derived, not from idolaters, but from Jehovah,

25—29.

1 LisTen in silence to me, ye maritime lands!
Let the nations also put on fresh strength ;
Let them draw near; then let them speak ;
Let us come together to the trial.

2 Who hath raised up from the east

1. wy is the appropriate term for
commanding silent attention. The point
at issue was one of the deepest interest
and importance, and claimed to be
heard with breathless silence. Comp.
Job xxxiii. 31. The LXX., who have
ἐγκαινίζεσθε, have mistaken Ἢ for Ἢ, and
given to ©19,a conjugation which no-
where occurs. Aquil. κωφεύσατε.
Theod. ovyjoare. For 0x, islands, see
on chap. xi. 11. The inhabitants of
Asia Minor and the Grecian islands
are here specially intended. To these

the phrase, PINT MzPp, the ends of the
earth, ver. 5, also appropriately applies.

2, The subject of the prediction is
suppressed, as in ver. 25, and chap.
xiil. 2; but that Cyrus is meant is be-
yond all doubt. Comp. ver. 25; chap.
xliv. 28, xlv. 1—7, 13, xlvi. 11. With
no propriety can the description here
given be applied to Abraham ; while
the whole tallies most exactly with
the Persian conqueror. Besides, the
passage contains a prophecy of what
was still to happen, not an account of

328

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XLI.

The just one, whom he hath called to follow him ?
He hath delivered over nations to him, so that he hath subdued

kings ;

He hath made their swords as dust, and their bows as driven

chaff.

3 He hath pursued them; he hath passed on safely,
By a way which he had never entered with his feet.
4 Who hath wrought and done it ?
He that calleth the generations from the beginning ;

ancient events. What seems princi-
pally to have proved an obstacle in
the way of the true interpretation, is
the occurrence of the term 77%, right-
eousness, Which, it has been thought,
cannot be applied to Cyrus. But
it is not a little remarkable, that of
all the virtuous princes of antiquity,
he alone was thought worthy of being
exhibited as a model of just govern-
ment. “Cyrus ille a Xenophonte,
non ad historize fidem scriptus, sed ad
effigiem justi imperii.” Cicero ad
Quint. Making every allowance for
the colouring given to his character
by Xenophon, still there is much
force in the remark of Kocher: “non
tamen eum proposuisset in exemplum,
nisi virtutibus eminuisset.” Not only
was he exemplary in private life, but
his victories and conquests had for
their principal object the vindication
of law and justice. See Rollin, Book
IV. chap. i. art. iii. § 3. He is even
said to have been an object of the
Divine love, chap. xlviii. 14. His de-
struction of the Babylonian empire,
and liberation of the Jews, were spe-
cial acts of righteousness; and the
abolition of idolatry, which, in a
great measure, followed the success
of the Persian arms, comes also under
the same head. See on chap. xliv. 28 ;
and xly. 1—4, 13. In this last verse,
- Cyrus is expressly said to be raised
up, ΡΊΞΞ, for righteousness, 1. Θ. to vindi-
cate the cause of the Jewish captives,
by inflicting punishment upon their
enemies. Comp. Jer. 1. 15, 25, 28, 29,
li. 10, 56. At p72, there is an ellipsis
of Wx; or, it may be taken as the ab-
stract for the concrete ΡΞ. Thus the
Chald., Syr., and Vulg.— 31) 83, fo call

to the foot of any one, means to engage
another in his service, to order him to
follow him and perform the duties
prescribed. Cyrus was called to fol-
low in the track marked out for him
by Divine Providence. The? in mn
belongs to God, understood. For 52,
in the sense of following, comp. 1 Sam.
xxv. 42; Job xviii. 11; Hab. iii. 5;

Arab. Fe) us post illum ; statim e ves-
tigio ejus. Pers. yr iol ye to

follow any one. The suffix in i217 and
inup refers to those whom Cyrus
should attack, and is to be taken col-
lectively. For the image, comp. Job
ΧΙ, 27—29. The nations over which
he obtained dominion were the Medes,
Hyrcanians, Assyrians, Arabians, Cap-
padocians, Phrygians, Lydians, Carians,
Babylonians, &c. Cyropezedia, lib. i. 1.

3. DW Way D|TyY graphically express
the rapidity and success of the expe-
ditions undertaken by Cyrus, and the
extent of territory through which
they were conducted. That against
Croesus is specially in point. The
omission of 3 before Οὐ is nothing
uncommon in poetic diction ; so that
the suppositions of Lowth are quite
gratuitous.

4. To the question, Ὁ, Who, &c.,
once more emphatically repeated, a
direct reply is given. Between the
verbs 92 and Mwy there is little differ-
ence of meaning; only the former
may describe the preparation for the
result, and the latter the result itself:
the one the work in operation, the
other, the completion of it. See on
Micah ii. 1. As frequently in Hebrew
poetry, the object is not expressed.

CHAP. XLI.|

ISAIAH. 329
I, Jehovah, the First,

And with the last I am He.

The maritime lands saw and were afraid ;

The ends of the earth trembled ;

They drew near; they came.

They helped each other ;

And one said to another: Be courageous.

Yea, the carpenter encouraged the smith ;

He that smootheth with the hammer him that striketh the anvil;
Saying of the soldering: It is good;

And fastened it with nails, that it might not be moved.

But thou, O Israel, my servant, “

O Jacob, whom I have called,

The seed of Abraham, my friend ;
9 Whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its extremities ;

For the sense in which Jehovah ap-
propriates to himself, JTS) Fr, che
First and the Last, see on chap. xliv. 6.
Here the latter of these terms being
changed into ὉΠ ΠΝ, seems in-
tended, either to be more emphatic,
the adjective being put in the plural
to agree with Dx, and the nx retain-
ing its intensively demonstrative sig-
nification ; or, to teach, that, as God
had called into existence the genera-
tions of mankind from the beginning,
so his existence would run parallel
with that of all who should live in
future time. Comp. }778 %, Ps. xlviil.
14; ΟΣ πα, Job xviii, 20, where it is
opposed to D2H77 ; Ὁ τ, contrasted
with O72) MA Ws 73, Eccles. iv. 16; and
DWN) ON ONY, Eccles. i. 11. While
the idols had come from, and should
soon again be reduced to nothing, the
true God ever continues the same. 87,

like the Arab. “Ὁ is used emphatically

of Jehovah, to denote the singularity
or uniqueness of his personal exist-
ence. st qui est ; He alone is what
he is: Gop. Zwinglius renders x17 72x,
Ego sum ille qui est, and remarks:
“Tanta vis est Hebraicz orationis, bre-
vissimee quidem, sed potentissime.”
5—7. INT} 381 is an elegant parono-
masia. This and the two following

verses describe the consternation of
the idolatrous inhabitants of Asia
Minor, and the islands and coasts of
Greece, on learning the rapid successes
of Cyrus ; and the increase of their
national devotions, in order to obtain
the protection of the gods. The enu-
meration of the god-makers in their
workshops is highly satirical, and quite
in its place; though Houbigant and
Kennicott imagined that the 6th and
7th verses have been transposed from
chap. xl. 20. Michaelis renders 077
DvD, bellows-blower.

8. For the different applications of
14Y, TH? 72Y, see on chap. xlii. 1. It is
here used of the Israelites, as worship-
pers of thé true God. The transition
in this verse is sudden and affecting.
The correlatives heighten the effect.
For the exalted title of Abraham,
comp. 2 Chron. xx. 7; James ii. 23.

a) Quis, the friend of God, is the
common title of Abraham, among the
Arabs, in the present day.

9. The people of Israel being dis-
tinguished from Abraham himself, and
being directly addressed, the choice
and call here spoken of must be
those of the Hebrews in Egypt.
Comp. Ezek. xx. 5; Hos. xi. 1. To
that country τ ἘΝῚ PINT NP applies

330

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XLI.

And to whom I have said, Thou art my servant ;
I have chosen thee, and will not reject thee:

10

Be not afraid, for | am with thee ;

Be not dismayed, for I am thy God ;

I will strengthen thee ;

yea, I will defend thee ;

Yea, I will uphold thee with my just right hand.

11

Behold! all shall be ashamed and confounded,

That are enraged against thee ;

They that contend with thee

Shall become as nothing, and perish.

Them that strove with thee ;

They that fought against thee

Thou shalt seek, but shalt not find

Shall become as nothing and nought.

13

For I Jehovah am thy God, that holdeth thy right hand ;

That saith to thee, Fear not, I will help thee.

14

Fear not, thou worm Jacob; ye mortals of mee

I will help thee, saith eevee
Even thy Redeemer, the Holy One of ret

15

Behold! I will make thee a threshing wain,

Sharp and new, with double edges ;
Thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small ;

with greater propriety than to Meso-
potamia. Ὁ ΕΝ, properly signify the
angles, joints, OY ‘elbows of the arm, and
somewhat modify the meaning of Mp,
ends, a8 occurring before. The expres-
sion of a statement first positively
and then negatively, for the purpose
of making a strong asseveration, is not
uncommon in Hebrew. Comp. for
the Hellenistic usage, John 1. 20.
10—14. While all the other nations
should be in terror at the approach of
Cyrus, the Jews had nothing to fear.
Their God was with them, and would
effect their deliverance. Though they
were contemptible and helpless as a
worm in the eyes of their haughty
conquerors, yet these should be utterly
destroyed, while the people of God
escaped. 7a, vers. 10 and 23, in
Hithpael, ‘signifies to look about for help,
when one is in danger. By the “just
right hand” of God, is meant his
power, exerted in vindication of the

rights of his people. x1~'N9, being
parallel to nyan, must also be taken
in a contemptible sense, as meaning
dead, inanimate, incapable of any poli-
tical movement. Aq.re@vewres Ἰσραήλ;
Theod. νεκροὶ Ἰσραήλ. So the Jews
were regarded by the Babylonians.

15, 16. By mountains and hills are
meant governments, &c. See on chap.
ii, 2. The prophecy received its fulfil-
ment in the time of the Maccabees,
John Hyrcanus, &c, when the Jews
again became an independent state,
and gained splendid victories over

min, Arab. c ap tri-

bulum ; a sledge or dray, drawn by
oxen over the corn, for the purpose of
threshing it. See on chap. XxXviii.
27. nD 23, lit. master of numerous
mouths ; well furnished with sharp
points of stone or wood. The Hebrews
call the edge or point of the sword,
its mouth, on account of the destruc-

their enemies.

CHAP. XLI. |

ISAIAH.

551

And the hills thou shalt make as chaff.

16

Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away ;

The storm shall also scatter them ;
But thou shalt rejoice in Jehovah τ:
In the Holy One of Israel shalt thou glory.

17

The poor and needy are seeking for water, and there is none ;

Their tongue is parched with thirst.

I, Jehovah, will answer them;

I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

18

I will open rivers on the barren hills,

And fountains in the midst of the valleys ;
I will make the desert a standing pool,
And the dry land springs of water.

19

Τ will place in the desert, the cedar, the acacia,

The myrtle also, and the olive tree ;
I will place in the wilderness, the cypress,
The pine, and the larch together :

That men may see and know,

And consider, and understand together,
That the hand of Jehovah hath done this,
And the Holy One of Israel hath created it.

tion which it effects. Comp. for the
reduplicate form, nD 17, Ps. exlix.

17—19. The destitute condition of
the Jews of the captivity is compared
to that of travellers in the arid deserts
of Arabia, who are on the point of

perishing with thirst, and know not y2j λα, &e.; Heb. ὙΠ,

where to look for water. God pro-
mises to relieve them with the most
abundant supply of blessings. 77%).
See on chap. xix. 5. Gesenius con-
siders the Dagesh in © to be euphonic,
in connexion with the pause. Comp.
Jer. li. 30. Not only should the actual
wants of the returning captives be
abundantly supplied; they should,
likewise, have the richest enjoyments.
This latter prediction is couched in
language borrowed from luxuriant,
shady, and fragrant trees, which
should beautify the desert. 777" and
wwienm occur only here and chap. lx. 13.

The former, Saad. renders, om plan-

tanus indicus, and with him agree
Kimchi and Sal. ben Melech ; compar-
ing Song 1. 17, in the Targum. It
seems rather, however, to be the pine;

po in Arab. signifying perpetuitas ;

splenduit ;

that tree being one of the most shin-
ing evergreens. The latter is in all
probability the larch, and has the
name given to it on account of its tall
and erect form. Some think a species
of cedar is meant, called by the Arabs,

* τ .
wo. The idea of doz-tree is now
(Ons π

quite abandoned.

20. It has been doubted whether
the nominative to the verbs here em-
ployed be the Jews, or idolaters. The
former is the more probable opinion.
worm is elliptical for 29 ὃν 12°. Comp.
ver. 22; and for ellipses of 35, Job
KXxiv. 23, xxxvii, 15.

332

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XLI.

21 Bring forward your cause, saith Jehovah ;
Produce your strong arguments, saith the King of Jacob.

22,

Let them produce them, and shew us things that were to happen;

Let them shew us what were the former predictions,
That we may consider, and know their event ;
Or let them declare to us coming events.

23

Shew the things that are coming in the future,

That we may know that ye are gods:

Do either good or evil,

That we may be dismayed, and be afraid together.
24 Behold! ye are less than nothing,

And your work is less than nought ;

He is an object of abomination that chooseth you.

21. The prophet now returns to the
subject proposed at the commence-
ment of the chapter, and challenges
the gods of the heathen to produce
evidence of their claims to divinity.
moaxzy, Theod. κραταιώματα; Symm.
ἰσχυρὰ ; properly a military term, sig-
nifying strong works raised round a
city for its protection: here used
tropically of forcible arguments or proofs.
Comp. Job xiii. 12. 0323 927723, your
defences are defences of mud.

22. The proof to which they are
challenged is Divine foreknowledge.

t is placed at their option either to
adduce prophecies uttered by them
in ancient times, that they might be
compared with the events to which
they referred; or, distinctly to an-
nounce some future contingent events,
ΤΙ νι, Theod. τὰ dpxaa; LXX.
πρότερον. The heathen had_ their
oracles ; but which of them could pre-
tend to an ancient date, or minutely
and clearly described ages beforehand
events that actually happened? But
as it was impossible for their devotees
to produce any such prophecies, it
was equally impossible for them to
furnish a definite, unambiguous predic-
tion of an event of public notoriety
and interest in the still distant
future.

23. Besides repeating his demand
for an unexceptionable prediction,
Isaiah challenges the false gods to
work a miracle in confirmation of
their pretensions. The nature of the

miracle he leaves them to choose.
When they produced such a proof of
the validity of their claims, it would
be time to acknowledge their divinity.
The language at the same time implies
that so far were they from being able
to work miracles, that they were ab-
solutely incapable of doing any thing,
either beneficial or destructive. Comp.
Jer. x. 5. Gesenius is at some pains
to attach to Tym: the idea expressed
by the same form, 78107, 2 Kings xiv.
8, 11; viz. that of engaging in mutual
combat; but his attempt is unsatis-
factory, and it is better to abide by
the idea of mutual dismay, which is
that conveyed by the verb in this
very form, ver. 10, Its radical mean-
ing is, ¢o look, to look anxiously for help.
I prefer 1, the textual reading, to
moan, that of the Keri, and point it
x2}, and that we may be afraid. Thus
xv and πὸ, occur together, ver. 10.

24, A triumphant assertion of the
nonentity of the heathen deities !
Οὐδὲν εἴδωλον ἐν κόσμῳ, 1 Cor. vill. 4.
vox the Rabbins take to mean the
same as TYE, ὦ viper, but unsuitably to
the connexion. It is in all probability
a corruption of Das. πον, the ab-
stract for ποθὴ wy. Idolatry is always
represented as peculiarly detestable to
Jehovah. It is likewise so utterly de-
basing in its influence on character, as
to render its adherents, and especially
its priests, objects of moral reproba-
tion to all who fear him,

CHAP. XLI.|

ISATAH.

333

25 I have raised up one from the north, and he cometh ;
From the rising of the sun he shall call upon my name ;
He shall also come upon princes as upon mortar,

And as the potter treadeth the clay.

26

Who shewed it from the beginning, that we might know ?

Or aforetime, that we might say, It is right ?
There was not even one that shewed it;

Not even one that declared it ;

Not even one that heard your words.

27

I first said to Zion, Behold! behold them!

And gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good.

28

Τ looked, indeed, but there was none,

Even among these, but there was no counsellor,
That I might inquire of them, and that they might give a

response.
29
Their works are nought ;

Behold! they are all of them vanity ;

Their molten images are wind and void.

25. Having proved that the false
gods could neither announce future
events, nor work any miracle, Jehovah
repeats the announcement already
made, ver. 2; declaring the conquests
of Cyrus upwards of a century before
they took place, and even when the
Medo-Persian empire had no exist-
ence. In ver. 2, Cyrus is brought
from the Hast; here from the North
and the Zus¢ ; in obvious allusion to
the united kingdoms of Media and
Persia, over which he reigned. That
Cyrus was induced to worship Jeho-
vah, no one can doubt who reads his
edict, Ezra i. 1—4, though it would
not have answered the design of Xe-
nophon to have noticed it. By 0220
are meant the prefects, or deputies,
in the Babylonian empire. X82) cor-
responds to ns%}, and is not to be dis-
turbed, as Le Clerc, Secker, and
Lowth propose.

26. None of the gods had given
any intimation of the conquest of
Babylon, either in the most distant,
or in more proximate past time. ΡΣ,
vight, means here, ἐξ is so in truth.
The cumulative propositions, intro-
duced by the repetition of 4X, are
singularly forcible.

27. What is denied of the gods,
Jehovah vindicates to himself. He
first announced by his prophet the
approach of the conqueror. Before
POX) is an ellipsis of V8, which is sug-
gested by jax Ww29, in the following
hemistich.

28, 29. Every opportunity was given
to the oracles, and those who consulted
them, to commence their defence, but
not a syllable was uttered. The un-
avoidable conclusion was, that the
whole system of idolatry was pure
fiction and imposture.

|

334

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XLII.

CHAPTER XLII.

This chapter exhibits the person, character,-and-office-of-the.Messiah, 1—5 ;
the extension of the blessings of the Gospel to the Gentiles, 6—12-; the
intervening destruction of Babylon, 13—15 ; the return from captivity, 16 ;
the confusion of idolaters, 17 ; the contemptuous rejection of the Messiah
by the Jews, 18—20; Jehovah's delight in his work, 21; and the final
punishment of the Jewish people for disobeying the Gospel, 22—25.

1 BrHoLp my Servant, whom I uphold;

1. In determining the application
of this prophecy, it is necessary to
ascertain the meaning of the phrase,
mm tap, the servant of Jehovah. That
Isaiah uses it in various senses, no one
familiar with his writings will deny.
It is applied to himself, chap. xx. 3 ;
to Eliakim, xxii. 20; to the Jewish

xlvili. 20; and to a distinguished

| people, xli. 8, 9, xliv. 1, 2, 21, xlv. 4,

Divine Legate, of whom a number of
| things are predicated, which cannot
} consistently be applied either to the
| Jews as a body, to their prophets
| collectively, or to any one of them in
particular, xlii. 1—7, xlix. 1—9, 1. 5—
10, li. 13—lii.; with which comp.
Zech. iii. 8. That these last cited
passages intimately cohere is admitted
by most interpreters, how much so-
ever they may differ in their views of
the subject to whom they belong ; and
certainly no one can accurately com-
pare them with each other, without
being struck with their cognate re-
lationship, and the peculiarity of
features with which they are marked.
Respecting the application of the pre-

Rosenmiiller, Hitzig, Maurer, and
some others, apply the phrase to the
Jewish people, or, at least, to the
better or select part of them. Others,
as Saadias, Koppe, Hensler, White,
think that Cyrus ismeant. Abenezra,
Grotius, Dathe, Déderlein, propose
Isaiah himself; while De Wette and

Gesenius imagine it applies to the
prophets collectively. A very satis-
factory refutation of these different
opinions will be found in Hengsten-
berg’s Christologie Erst. Theil. 2
Abtheil. pp. 236—240, The reader
may also consult the very able notes
of Michaelis on the passage. That it
applies exclusively to the Messiah has
been maintained by the great body of
interpreters, both ancient and modern,
and more especially by Vitringa, Mi-
chaelis, Lowth, v. d. Palm, Umbreit,
Hengstenberg, Jenour, and Scholz.
The principal reasons advanced in de-
fence of this position are the following :
First, the passage is directly applied
to our Saviour by the inspired evan-
gelist Matthew, chap. xii. 17—21; and
part of the first verse is verbally
adopted in the Divine testimony to
his Messiahship at the Jordan, iii. 17,
and on the mount of transfiguration,
xvii. 5; Mark ix. 7; Luke ix. 35. To
which add the reference made to the
6th verse by Simeon, in his inspired
testimony, Luke ii. 32. Secondly, this
interpretation is that of theChaldee

and Abarbanel, notwithstanding the
narrowness of their hereditary notions,
The latter writer scruples not to assert
that all those who do not interpret the
prophecy of the Messiah have been
struck with blindness, 0%». Thirdly,
the totality of character exhibited in
the passage is such as to render it
inapplicable to any but our Lord.

CHAP. XLIL]

ISAIAH.

335

Mine Elect, in whom my soul delighteth ;

I have put my Spirit upon him ;

He shall cause judgment to go forth to the nations.
2 He shall not cry, nor raise his voice,

Nor cause it to be heard in the streets.
3 A bruised reed shall he not crush;

And a glimmering wick shall he not quench :

With no truth or consistency can it
be said either of Cyrus, or of the
Jews, or their prophets, that their
commission extended to the spiritual
emancipation of the Gentiles. See
vers. 1, 4,6, 7. Fourthly, the subject
to which the prophecy has respect, is
obviously identical with that exhibited,
chap. xix, 1—12. The person and office
of the same individual are described
in both. They equally insist on his
mediatorial character, and the univer-
sality of the dispensation of knowledge
and happiness which he was to esta-
blish in the world. Lastly, every
predicate here specified most aptly
applies to Christ.

The transition was easy, from the
temporal deliverance to be effected by
Cyrus, to the spiritual salvation to be
accomplished by the Messiah. }7 has
there all its force as a demonstrative
interjection, and marks the transition
to a new subject, on which it fixes the
attention ofthe reader. Ἂν, the LXX.
render παῖς, as they do elsewhere, in
upwards of three hundred instances ;
and this Matthew retains, though he
widely differs from them in the
wording of his quotation. See Bloom-
field on Matt. xii. 18 ; and comp. for
παῖς, Acts iv. 27. Some have sup-
posed that in Ἰακὼβ ὁ παῖς pov and
᾿Ισραὴλ ὁ ἐκλεκτός μου, the names
᾿Ιακὼβ and ᾿Ισραὴλ are a more recent
interpolation ; but their insertion is
quite in keeping with the manner in
which many parts of this book are ren-
dered in the LXX. ; the author having
taken the liberty of introducing brief
explanations, to render what he took
to be the sense more perspicuous.
See chap. i. 21, iv.4, lx.1. The Chald.
renders ; ΦΊΔΙ YMA TAPS NPG Ty xT
20 72, Behold my servant, THE Mus-
SIAH, [ will cause him to draw near ; my
chosen, in whom my word is delighted.

Kimchi: moon yon wm, This is the hing
MesstaH. Alschech: wot Jn KW,
He is the king Messtan. Abarbanel :
monn wn, dud this is the MESSIAH, Kc.
See also Midrash Tillim in Raym.
Martini Pug. Fid. p. 527. Our Re-
deemer was the choice of infinite
wisdom. He possessed a plenitude of
mediatorial qualifications which ren-
dered him the object of the Father’s
complacence, and, in every respect, fit
to undertake the work of human re-
demption. This was in part the result
of the superabundant gift of the Holy
Spirit. Matt. ii. 16,17 ; Johni. 32—
34, 111. 34. w bw, judgment, here, and
vers, 3 and 4, is equivalent to ™n, daw ;
and both mean the doctrine or insti-
tution of the Messiah; the gospel
dispensation. Εν, he will carry forth,
or cause to go forth. Comp. 825, chap.
ii. 3. True religion had been, for the
most part, confined to the Jews. In
the new dispensation; πάντα τὰ ἔθνη,
all the 0%3, heathen nations, were to be
brought under its influence. Comp.
xlix. 6, 12, li. 4, 5, ii, 2—4; Matt.
xxviii. 19 ; Mark xvi. 15.

2, 3. These verses describe the meek
and gentle character of the Messiah ;
the noiseless and unostentatious mode
in which the affairs of his kingdom
should be conducted ; and the tender
compassion which he would exercise
towards the dejected and helpless.
Comp. chap. lxi. 1—3; Matt. xi. 28—
30. It was the retiring conduct of
our Lord, which led Matthew to quote
the words of the prophecy as receiving
their fulfilment inhim, smtp, LXX. de.
λίνον, flax, or linen; here a wick made
of such material. 193, to be feeble, weuk,
pale, dim, peculiarly expressive of a
lamp just about to expire. LXX.
καπνιζόμενον. Matt. τυφόμενον. Aq,
Symm., Theod., ἀμαυρὸν. MP8? must
either mean dy, i.e. by means of truth, the

336

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XLII.

For permanence he shall cause judgment to go forth.
4 He shall not glimmer, neither shall he be bruised,

Till he have established judgment on the earth,

And the maritime lands have waited for his law.

5 Thus saith the God, Jehovah,

That created the heavens, and stretched them out ;
That spread forth the earth, and its productions ;
That giveth breath to the people upon it,
And spirit to them that walk on it.
6 I, Jehovah, have called thee for righteousness ;
I also will take hold of thy hand ;
Yea, I will preserve thee, and appoint thee for a covenant to

the people,

> denoting the dative of instrument ;
or, for a permanence ; i.e. the dispen-
sation which was to continue, in op-
position to that of Moses, which was
to cease. The root is ox, in Niph. Zo
be stable, durable, permanent. Thus
Matt. ἑως ἂν ἐκβάλῃ εἰς νῖκος τὴν κρίσιν ;
where εἰς νῖκος is used Hellenistically,
as by the LXX. in Job xxxvi. 7; 2Sam.
11. 26, for N22, for ever ; 22, perpetuity,
eternity. Comp. Hab. i. 4.

4. The verbs 772 and yy are here
repeated with fine effect, in appli-
cation to the Messiah himself. Mild
and gentle as he would be towards the
broken-hearted and desponding, no
power should depress his spirit, im-
pede his progress, obscure his glory,
or thwart his purpose. The negatives
in this and the preceding verses are
intended strongly to affirm the con-
trary. For the form j7v, comp. 77,
Ps. xci. 6. ἣν Prov. xxix. 6; which
are referable to 17 and jn, as yv is to
yz. This verb is here used intransi-
tively, as in Eccles. xii. 6. There can,
I think, be little doubt, that ἐπὶ τῷ
ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ, the present reading of
the LXX., was originally, ἐπὶ τῷ νόμῳ
avrov. Thus the other Greek versions:
καὶ ἐν τῷ νόμῳ αὐτοῦ ἔθνη ἐλπιοῦσι.
Matt., however, retains ὄνομα, as suffi-
cient for his purpose. See Bloomfield
in loc. For 0x, in the sense of remote
western countries, see on chap. xi. 11.
In such connexions as the present, it is
almost synonymous with 3, zations ;
yet not without a more special re-

ference to those of Europe and other
western parts, in which Christianity
has most prevailed.

5. Such descriptions of the exclusive
claims of Jehovah to be believed in and
obeyed, frequently occur in passages
which treat of the folly or downfal of
idolatry. They form an appropriate
introduction to what follows. Among
other effects to be produced by the
establishment of the New Covenant,
was the conversion of idolaters to the
service of the true God. The ° in
oP is not the sign of the plural, but |
merely a substitute for the radical 7; |
as jaye, Ezek. i. 5.

6, 7. Jehovah now addresses himself
directly to the Messiah. The language
resembles that employed respecting
Cyrus, chap. xlv. 13; but what is
otherwise here predicated can with no
propriety be applied to that monarch.
ΡΊΞΞ, with or for, i.e. furnished with,
prepared to bestow righteousness.
Maurer: “ cum justitia sc. mea, ἢ. 6. ut
cum justitia mea venias.” For this
signification of 3, see on chap. vill. 16.
The δικαιοσύνη introduced by the
Messiah, Dan. ix. 24, called, Rom. 1.17,
ii. 21, 22, δικαιοσύνη Θεοῦ, iS very
different from that which the Persian
conqueror brought to Babylon. It is
that, without which there can be no
enjoyment of the other blessings
specified in the prophecy. ΓΒ, Cove-
nant, is used elliptically, for m2 4x7, |
the Messenger, or Agent of the Covenant,
Meoirns ; and is employed as a per- |

CHAP. ΧΙ11.]}

For a light to the nations.
7 To open the blind eyes ;

ISAIAH.

337

To bring the prisoners out of confinement ;
Out of the prison-house them that sit in darkness.
8 Iam Jehovah; this is my name ;
And my glory will I not give to another,
Nor my praise to graven images.
9 As to the former predictions, behold! they have come to pass ;

And new events I declare ;

Before they spring forth I publish them to you.

10

Sing to Jehovah a new song;

His praise at the extremity of the earth ;
Ye that go down upon the sea, and its fulness ;

sonal title of the Messiah, because he
was sent to be the medium through
which the blessings conveyed by it
were to flow to mankind. Some ren-
der, Covenant-victim ; but this idea,
though implied in the Scripture doc-
trine of the New Covenant, is not
suggested by the word itself. ody ma,
a Covenant of the people, is the Genitive
of object, just as Ὁὴ 3 Nx, light of the
nations, is. The Covenant was not one
which the people already possessed,
but one that was to be made with
them through the mediation of the
Messiah. Comp. chap. xlix. 8, lv. 3;
Jer. xxxi. 31: Mal. ii. 1 ; Heb. viii. 6,
kpeitroves διαθήκης μεσίτης, 8—13, ix.
15, διαθήκης καινῆς μεσίτης. OY, people,
and 0%3, zations, are here used anti-
thetically, as in chap. xlix. 6, 8, to
denote the Jews, as God’s peculiar
people, and the other nations of the
earth by which he had not been
known or served. The benefits of
redemption were not to be confined to
the former, but were to be extended
throughout the world. ix, as φῶς,
John i. 8, 9, viii. 12, is employed
metaphorically for the author of light,
and designates the Messiah as the
Great Moral Teacher, the Author not
only of spiritual illumination, but of
deliverance from the impurity and
misery of sin. Though the two
epithets are used distinctively in the
antithesis, it is not meant that the
Jews alone were to enjoy the privileges
of the New Covenant, nor that the

heathen were to enjoy the light to the
exclusion of the Jews: they were to
have both in common, only the cove-
nant belonged primarily to the latter,
Acts ili. 25.

8. Before x, supply 98 from ver. 5.
Comp. O78 ovoRX, Exod. xx. 3. The
Divine and Incommunicable name,
mm, is here used in reference to its
peculiar import : THE SreLr-ExisTent
AND IMMUTABLE. Comp. Exod. iii. 14;
Hos. xii. 5.

9. The nists were the predictions
previously delivered, respecting the de-
struction of the Assyrians, &c.; the
mw are those which had, in part,
been delivered by the prophet, in the
preceding part of this chapter, re-
specting the Messiah, and the dispen-
sation which he was to establish.
ΤΌΣ DW. is a botanical metaphor,
aptly introduced to shew that no ap-
pearances existed which gave the least
indication of the things predicted.
They were, as it were, hid under
ground from the sight of mortals.

10. This and the two following
verses describe the universal joy which
the publication of the Gospel should
occasion. Benefits so transcendent as
those which it bestows, called for
higher -strains of praise than any
which had previously been conferred.
Carmina non prius audita, Horace. For
WIT VY, comp. Ps. xevi.1, xeviii.1. Both
these Psalms, and that which inter-
venes, are strikingly parallel in phrase-
ology to the present passage. The

338

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XLII.

The maritime lands, and their inhabitants.

11 The desert and its towns shall raise their voice ;
The villages that Kedar inhabiteth ;
The inhabitants of Sela shall sing ;
From the summit of the mountains shall they shout.
12 They shall render glory to Jehovah,
And declare his praise in the maritime lands.
13 Jehovah shall go forth like a hero;
Like a warrior shall he rouse his zeal ;
He shall cry aloud ; he shall call to battle:
He shall shew himself mighty against his foes.
14 I have long been silent;
I have held my peace ; I have contained myself :
Like a woman in child-birth, I will ery out ;
1 will pant and breathe at once.
15 1 will lay waste mountains and hills,
And dry up all their herbage ;
I will also turn the rivers into habitable lands,
And dry up the pools:
16 And will lead the blind by a way which they knew not;

In paths which they knew not will I conduct them:

subject is the same,—the abolition of
idolatry under the reign of the Mes-
siah. Lowth’s proposed change of
DT Ny into oy, YY, or JY, 15 opposed
by its correlate O»8. The Phoenician
merchants, and the inhabitants of the
transmarine regions in the west, are
here meant. Instead of 77», fifteen
MSS. and origin. eight more, read 7¥73,
and De Rossi’s Cod. 109, mentions
that others read thus.

11. At Ἰνὼ is an ellipsis of Dp. As
Kedar means the Arabs generally,
chap. xxi. 16, and is used as a proper
name, consistency of interpretation
requires that », Sela, should be
viewed in the same light, as denoting
the city of Petra, to the south of the
Dead Sea. See on chap. xvi.1. The
inhabitants of these regions are se-
lected to represent the Kast, as those
living in countries down the Mediter-
ranean had been to represent the
West. 737 means the great Arabian
desert, and its DY, the towns which are
found in different parts of it.

13. The prophet here returns to the
subject of the captivity. The lan-
guage is military, and powerfully ex-
presses the ardour with which a war-
rior rushes upon the enemy. ΠῈΣ,

Arab. - - 72 clare exposuit ; 11. aperte

divit rem; in Hiph. to give a loud shout
or cry, such as warriors do when en-
tering into battle, for the purpose of
inspiring each other with courage.

14. The metaphors are now bor-
rowed from a female in her pains, and
most significantly express the impa-
tience with which Jehovah waited to
give birth to his purpose respecting
Babylon. The interrogative turn
which some give to the former half
of the verse is unnatural. Dx some
derive from 09%, to lay waste; but it
is more in accordance with the images
here employed to refer it to Ὁ), fo
breathe strongly, pant for breath. ‘Thus
AN, fo blow, or breathe hard.

15, 16. The Babylonian empire, and
every other obstacle that prevented .

CHAP. XLII.]

ISATAH.

339

I will turn darkness into light before them,
And rugged places into a plain:
These things will I do for them, and will not forsake them.

17

They are turned back, they are utterly confounded,

That confide in graven images ;

That say to molten images :
Ye are our Gods.

18 Hear, ye deaf!

And, ye blind! look, that ye may see.

19

Who is blind but my Servant?

Or deaf as my Messenger whom I will send ?

the happy return of the Jews to their
own land, were to be destroyed. In-
stead of Dx, many critics, after Hou-
bigant, would read ΘῈ, but quite
unnecessarily. Besides, the latter
word signifies the inhabitants of arid
regions, never the regions themselves.
See on chap. xiii. 21. Nothing could
have been more unexpected than the
mode of deliverance from Babylon.
It was manifestly the hand of God.
The imagery is bold and sublime.
Comp. chap. xli. 15—19. The con-
struction Dn Dy is not uncommon.

17. A description of the disappoint-
ment experienced by the idolaters of
Babylon, when they found that their
gods had been unable to protect them
from Cyrus.

18. The prophet here turns abruptly
upon his countrymen, who enjoyed
- abundantly the means of religious in-
struction after the restoration, more
especially during the ministry of our
Lord, ver. 20, but who were obsti-
nately stupid and inattentive, and calls
upon them to regard the Divine mes-
sage. Comp. chap. xliii. 8 ; Matt. xv.
14; Mark iii. 5.

19. Most interpreters apply these
words to the Jewish people, addressed
both in the preceding and the follow-
ing verse: but their interpretation is
clogged with insuperable difficulties.
Nowhere in scripture is that people
spoken of as the Tim 4X, Messenger of
Jehovah. Whenever they are called
his servant, reference is had to their
worship and obedience to his laws,—
not to their executing a commission

to others. Besides, with no propriety
could the term 03% be applied to
them. We are told, indeed, what is

perfectly true, that pres Moslem,
oe ee Mosleman, whence our Mussul-

man, signifies one who is devoted to
the service of God, who obeys him,
and submits to his will; but even if
it were allowable to transfer the Mo-
hammedan acceptation of this Arabic
term to the Hebrew, nothing would be
gained. The Jews were distinguished
for any thing rather than devotion to
the will and service of Jehovah. A
more appropriate rendering, in appli-
cation to them, would be that of
recompensed, punished—the verb 0d»
signifying, fo requite, retribute: but
this would ill comport with the fore-
going terms. The signification, friend,
ally of God, proposed by Gesenius, is
equally irrelevant. Abraham was so
called, but never the Jewish nation.
The construction, to whom I have sent
my messenger, which is that of the
Vulg., Chald., Saadias, Lowth, and,
others, Gesenius justly rejects. The
language I consider ironical, and de-
signed to shew, that such would be
the light in which the Jews would re-
gard the Messiah. When accused of
unbelief, they retort: “ Who can
listen to such a messenger? He is
blind to all the prospects of earthly
glory, which our prophets have taught
us to cherish; he is deaf to all our
pretensions on the score of legal
righteousness.” Comp. chap. liii. 1.

340

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XLII.

Who is blind as the Perfect One ?
Blind as the Servant of Jehovah ?

20

Thou hast seen many things, but hast not observed them ;

Having the ears open, but heard nothing.

21

Jehovah is well-pleased for the sake of his righteousness ;

He shall magnify the law, and render it glorious.

But this is a people spoiled and plundered ;

All of them are bound in dungeons,

And hid in prison-houses ;

They have become a spoil, and there is no deliverer ;
A plunder, and no one saith, Restore.

23

Who among you will give ear to this ?

Attend, and hear for the future ?

24 Who delivered up Jacob to be a spoil,

To our Lord all the epithets here em-
ployed most aptly apply. He was the
Father’s Servant; the Messenger whom
he was to send; the Perfect One. The
last term, 0202, Symm. renders, ὁ
τέλειος; Kimchi, 9m, perfect; and
Abenezra regards it as synonymous
with pz, righteous. The signification,
delivered up, betrayed, might be sug-
gested, comp. Josh. xi. 19; but that

‘of perfect is best established. Instead
of 1», blind, repeated at the end of the
verse, two MSS. and Symm. read 17,
deaf, of which Houbigant, Lowth, and
Déderlein approve ; but there is sin-
gular force in the repetition, which is
beyond doubt genuine.

20. The blind Jews are now ad-
dressed as a body. They had been
favoured with the highest advantages;
numerous and illustrious miracles
were performed by our Lord before
their eyes, but they heeded them not.
Their ears were open to their phari-
saical teachers, but they were unwill-
ing to listen to him. niu, the Keri,
though numerously supported by MS.
authority, is most likely, after all, an
emendation, proposed for the purpose
of rendering the word conformable
to the following Infin. 072 ; yet comp.
ninw, chap. xxi. 18 ; nis, Hos. x. 4.
Symm. εἶδες πολλὰ ; LXX. εἴδετε πλε-
ονάκις. The same may be said of aun,
in the Second Person instead of the
Third.

.-

21. The antecedent to the pronom.
affix in Wiz, His righteousness, is the
Illustrious Servant and Messenger of
Jehovah. Thus the LXX. ἵνα δικαιωθῇ;
Symm. ἵνα δικαιώσῃ αὐτὸν ; and simi-

larly the Chald., Vulg., and Saad. ΥὙ8π|,

signifies to end, incline, Arab. a

Jlexit, inflexit ; to be inclined, favourable
towards a person ; be delighted, pleased.
It is here used of the propense dispo-
sition of God to bestow blessings on
the guilty, in consideration of the
righteousness of the Messiah. The
Jews might reject him, as predicted
in the preceding verses, but his work
should not be fruitless. Comp. chap.
xlix. 5. The mim you, chap. lui. 10,
should prosper in his hand. The
nominative to the verbs 712 and Ww
is the Messiah, understood. For the
sense, comp. Matt. v. 17; Rom. iii. 31,
vii. 12, vil. 4, x. 4; Gal. iii. 18.

22. From this verse to the end of
the chapter we have a pathetic argu-
mentative description of the miserable
circumstances to which the’ Jews
should be reduced, in consequence of
their rejecting the Saviour. M57 is
the historical Infinitive of πῇ, oa
may either be rendered, the young men ;
or, ἐμ holes. The latter is preferable,
on account of the parallelism. By
Tis meant a subterranean prison.

24, Not is used per κοίνωσιν,---
the prophet identifying himself with

CHAP. XLIII.] ISATAH. 341

And Israel to the plunderers ?
Was it not Jehovah? He against whom they had sinned ;
In whose ways they were unwilling to walk ;
And whose laws they did not obey.

25 Therefore, he hath poured upon him the heat of his anger ;
And the fierceness of war ;
It hath even kindled around him, yet he perceiveth it not;
Yea, it burneth him up, yet he layeth it not to heart.

his nation. The LXX. and Chald. instance of the stat. absol. pro constr.

read NOM, or a genitive of apposition : heat which
25. For 727, one of Kennicott’s is his anger,i.e. his hot anger.

MSS. reads non. ‘58 727 may be an

CHAPTER XLII.

The prophet resumes the subject of the restoration from Babylon and other
countries, and adduces several grounds of comfort and encouragement to
the pious, 1—7 ; while he exposes the guilt of such of the Jews as obsti-
nately persisted in unbelief, 8. He then, by an easy transition, addresses
himself to the idolaters, challenging them to produce a single instance of
prescience on the part of their gods, 9; appeals to the liberated Jews, and
to the Messiah, for the truth of the fact, that there was no God but Jehovah
alone, 10—13 ; and again announces the interposition at Babylon, 14, 15 ;
which he illustrates by a reference to the deliverance at the Red Sea, 16, 17.
The former, however, was to be the more memorable of the two, 18—21.
He then shews that the deliverance of the Jews was not owing to ceremonial
offerings, &c., but to the free grace of Jehovah, pardoning their sins, 22—
26 ; and the chapter concludes with a statement of the causes of the capti-
vity, 27, 28.

1 Burt now, thus saith Jehovah that created thee, O Jacob !
And He that formed thee, O Israel !

1. Creation and redemption are here, figuratively, to give existence to
here to be understood in a national what the name or person imports.
sense, ὉΔῚ ΝῊ primarily means, fo Comp. chap. i. 26; Exod. xxxi. 2;
call a person by enouncing his name; Isa, xlv.3,4. Ina higher sense, when

teu

942

ISAIAH.

[CHAP, XLII.

Fear not, for I have redeemed thee ;
I have called thee by name ; thou art mine.

2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee ;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee ;
When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned ;
Neither shall the flame consume thee.

3 For I, Jehovah, am thy God,

The Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour ;
I have given Egypt for thy ransom,

Cush and Seba im thy stead.

4 Because thou wast precious in my sight,

Thou hast been honoured ;

And because 1 loved thee, I have given men in thy stead,
And nations instead of thy life.

5 Fear not, for I am with thee;

God is the subject, it means fo call
φρο, or invoke him, with special re-
ference to his name, z.e. his revealed
character. Gen. iv. 26, e¢ freq.

2. Images of the greatest troubles
and dangers, and promises of perfect
security.

3. 183, from ἝΞ

=)

to cover, overlay with
acovering, Arab. ps 5 pe texit, operuit

rem; and the latter, condonavit pec-
catum ; signifies ransom-money, λύτρον,
a compensation paid for expiation and
deliverance. Comp. Exod. xxi. 30,
xxx. 12. Its substitutionary or vica-
rious character is confirmed by ΤΏΙ,
in thy stead, in the following clause.
The ransom consisted in the countries
here specified, with which the Per-
sians were rewarded for liberating the
Jews from Babylon. They received
no compensation from the Jews them-
selves ; but under Cambyses, they
pushed their conquests into Africa,
subdued Egypt, and penetrated as far
as Ethiopia and Meroé. For 3, Cush,
see chap. xi. 11. By x20, Seda, is
meant the celebrated sacerdotal state
of Meroé, situate in the fruitful penin-
sula formed by the rivers Astapus and
Astaboras, or Tacazze, and now con-
stituting part of the kingdom of
Senaar, in Nubia. The city of Meroé
was famous for its commerce, riches,

and temples, one of which was of
gold, and particularly noted for the
priests having been murdered in it, in
the third century before Christ, by
Ergamenes the king, who thus ren-
dered himself independent of the
priesthood. Numerous remaining
temples, pyramids, colossuses, and
sepulchral monuments, attest its
ancient magnitude and _ splendour.
Some of the most remarkable ruins
are those of Subah (lat. 15° N.), in
which we recognise the Hebrew name.
The worship of Ammon and Osiris
was here celebrated in the most
sumptuous manner. 810, Seba, was
descended from Cush, Gen. x. 7. On
its being conquered by Cambyses, he
gave it the name of Meroé, after that
of his sister. LXX. Σοήνη. See fur-
ther on chap. xlv. 14.

4, The compound 1x» is not to be
understocd, in this place, in reference
to time, but as assigning the reason
why such a compensation was made
for the deliverance of the Jews. Its
repetition in °}38) is superseded by the
continuative force of the Vau. In
TAS), the Vau is simply inferential.
This verse is epexegetical of the
preceding.

5—7. On the invasion of Judea by
Nebuchadnezzar, many of the Jews
fled into Egypt and other neighbour-

CHAP. XLIII.]

ISATAH.

343

I will bring thy seed from the east,
And gather thee from the west.

6 I will say to the north, Give up;
And to the south, Keep not back ;

Bring my sons from far,

And my daughters from the ends of the earth ;

“J

Every one that is called by my name;

Whom I have created for my glory ;
Whom I have formed and made.
8 Bring forth the blind people, that have eyes,

And the deaf, that have ears.

9 Let all the nations be assembled ;
And let the people be collected.
Who among them can declare this Ὁ
Or shew us former predictions ?
Let them produce their witnesses, that they may be justified ;
That men may hear, and say, It is true.

10

Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah,

And my Servant whom I have chosen ;
That ye may know, and believe me,
And understand, that I am ΠΕ.

Before me no God was formed ;

And after me there shall be none.

11 1,1 am Jehovah ;

ing countries, where they remained
during the captivity. The conquests
of Cyrus afforded them an opportunity
of returning at the time of the resto-
ration from Babylon. The verbs in
ver. 6, are of the Fem. gender,—jy x
being understood.

8. By the blind and deaf are meant
such Jews as had mixed themselves
up with the heathen, learned their
ways, and rejected the messages of
Jehovah. They here form a subject
of transition to the following challenge
given to the idolatrous nations. Comp.
chap. xlii. 18. 257 is the Imperative.

10. Jehovah addresses the Jews
who were to be restored to their own
land, ver. 5—7, and shews that they
were designed to bear testimony to
the truth of his Divine existence and
character, in opposition to the claims

put forth by idolaters. This they
specially did during the period which
intervened between the restoration,
and the advent of our Lord, the 729,
Servant, (Targ. sw 12Y),) here speci-
fically intended. Comp. chap. xhi. 1.
By him, and by his apostles and
succeeding ministers of the word,
such testimony was to be borne, as
should effect the complete overthrow
of idol-worship. Comp. Mark xii. 29 ;
John xvii. 3; Acts xiv. 15, xvii. 23—
30; 1. Cor. viii. 6; 1 Thess. i. 9, 10.
wir», was not formed, is not to be
pressed, except as it sarcastically
exposes the origin of idols: it is
equivalent to was not.

11. The repetition, 58 ‘8, is em-
phatic. Comp. ver. 25, 11. 12. 28 28,
xlviii. 15.

344

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XLIII.

And besides me there is no Saviour.

12

I have declared, and saved, and made it known,

When there was no strange god among you:
Ye also are my witnesses, saith Jehovah,

That I am God.
13

From the time that day was, I am HE;

And none can rescue from my hand ;
I will execute my work ; and who shall hinder it ?

14 Thus saith Jehovah,

Your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
For your sakes I sent to Babylon ;

And brake down all the barriers,

And the Chaldeans in their joyous vessels.

15

I, Jehovah, am your Holy One,

The Creator of Israel, your King.

16 Thus saith Jehovah:

He that made a way in the sea,
And a path in the mighty waters ;

17
The army and the force :—

That brought out the chariot and the horse,

They lay down together; they rose no more ;
They were quenched, they went out as a wick.

18

Remember not the former things ;

Neither reflect on the things of old.

12. At J, supply °x, as found in Ps.
xliv. 21, lxxxi. 10.

13. DIN, LXX. ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς ; from the
first day of creation, Gen. i. 5. Not
only did Jehovah exist as the _Immut-
able, but also as the Omnipotent and
Trresistible.

14, ont’, the prophetic future,
indicating the absolute certainty of
the Medo-Persian invasion. 03, or,
as Theod., Jerome, Abenezra, and
Abarbanel, or), Jars, bolts; figura-
tively, protectors, defenders, soldiers.
This acceptation of the word is here
preferable to that of fugitives, since it
would seem to designate the land-
troops, in contradistinction to the
naval force of Babylon, mentioned
immediately after. oOnm nvr, lit. the
ships of their joy, i.e. the vessels
manned by the Chaldeans, the crews

of which cheered each other with a
view to mutual excitement. That navi-
gation in larger vessels obtained on
the Euphrates in ancient times, is past
dispute. See Herod. i. 184—186;
Strabo, xvi. According to Huet, in
his Hist. du Commer., Semiramis had
a fleet of three thousand galleys.
See Lowth’s Note.

16—18. A forcible allusion to the
destruction of the Egyptians in the
Red Sea ; which, however, is declared,
ver. 18, to be among those former in-
terpositions of Divine Providence,
that were to be eclipsed by the de-
struction of the Babylonians, and the
rescue of the captive Jews. These
were to be so remarkable, that they
should exclusively occupy the minds
of the faithful.

CHAP. XLIII.]

19

20

. ISAIAH. 345

Behold! I will effect a new thing ;

Now it shall spring up; will ye not regard it?
I will even make a way in the desert,

And rivers in the wilderness,

The beasts of the field shall honour me ;

The wolves and the ostriches ;

For I will put water in the desert,

And rivers in the wilderness ;

To furnish drink for my people, my chosen.

21

This people I have formed for myself;

They shall celebrate my praise.

22

But thou hast not invoked me, O Jacob!

Yea, thou hast been weary of me, O Israel!

23

Thou hast not brought me the lambs for thy burnt-offerings ;

Neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices ;
I have not burdened thee with oblations,

Nor wearied thee with incense.
Thou hast not bought for me sweet cane with money ;

24

Neither hast thou satiated me with the fat of thy sacrifices ;
But thou hast burdened me with thy sins;

19—21. The circumstances con-
nected with the return should be
altogether novel in their character.
To indicate that every provision for
comfort and security would be made,
the boldest poetical images are em-
ployed. The whole should be cele-
brated as exclusively the work of God,
executed in behalf of his chosen
people.

22. Prone as the Jews ever were to
imagine that they merited the Divine
favour by their ceremonial obsery-
ances, it was necessary, after the high
terms in which they had been spoken
of, and the enouncement of so remark-
able a deliverance as that which was
to be effected for them, to remind
‘them of the facts, that, before the
captivity, they had either neglected
to present the prescribed offerings,
or had done it in a mere formal
manner; that while it lasted none
had been imposed upon them ; and
that, instead of serving their God,
their conduct had been characterised
by ingratitude and rebellion. As

Lowth observes, the emphasis on
which the sense depends, lies on the
pronoun Ve. See his note, and comp.
Amos v. 25. This verse contains a
general proposition, which is explained
in the particulars enumerated, vers.
23, 94.

24. πὴ, calamus aromaticus, the
sweet cane, which is in high esti-
mation in India, Western Asia, and
Africa. Mr. Campbell relates, that
the inhabitants of the two towns
highest up in Africa, which he visited,
presented him with pieces of sugar or
sweet cane, about a foot in length,
and in such quantities that the bottom
of that part of the wagon where he
sat was covered with it. It was an
article of traffic, and often brought
from a distance, Jer. vi. 20; and was
used as a component ingredient in
preparing the holy anointing oil,
Exod. xxx. 23. In 72—m} is a paro-
nomasia. The verbs ΤΩΣ and ὉΠ are
repeated with great effect from the
preceding verse; and, as here used,
are strongly anthropopathical. The

846

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XLII.

Thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.

25 I, lam He,

That blotteth out thy transgressions for my own sake,
And will not remember thy sins.

26

Put me in remembrance ; let us plead together ;

Record thou, that thou mayest be justified.

27

Thy chief father hath sinned,

And thine interpreters have rebelled against me.

28

Therefore have I desecrated the rulers of the sanctuary,

And given up Jacob to the curse,

And Israel to reproaches.

former, from 73¥, to serve, labour, means
to impose labour upon one, to burden, or
Jatigue with labour.

25. For the repetition, see on ver.
11:
motives derived purely from my own
nature ; uninfluenced by any cause in

ou.

26. The Jews are called upon to
specify a single instance in which
they had done any thing really meri-
torious. Jehovah was willing, not
only that the cause should be tried,
but that they themselves should give
the verdict. So evident was it that
they had nothing to produce.

27. WONT six, according to most
commentators, means Adam, and even
Gesenius thinks this interpretation is
not altogether to be rejected. Hitzig
and Scholz also adopt it. But that
the reference is to some person or
persons to whom the Jews in particular
were related, the spirit of the passage
requires. Yet Abraham, of whom
others have thought, is likewise out
of the question, on the ground that,
though, like each of his posterity, he
was chargeable with sin, yet he is
elsewhere uniformly represented as a
righteous or justified person, and not
as one entailing punishment upon
himself and others, The LXX. have
taken the phrase to be a collective, ot

2709, for my own sake; from’

πατέρες ὑμῶν πρῶτοι, your forefathers, |
and this Gesenius prefers; but the |
parallelism requires us to understand
a person in office, and none is so
likely to be intended as the High
Priest. vox), first, is used not only of
time, but also of dignity, as 1 Chron.
xviii. 17; and Bx 373, the head or chief
priest, and simply ‘x57, the chief, are
employed to denote the Jewish pontiff.
At the same time, there is no reason
to conclude that only one High Priest
is meant. By Ow are meant zz/er-
preters of the Divine will, internuncii,
religious teachers. Comp. Gen. xlii.
23. The LXX. have ἄρχοντες ὑμῶν ;
but Aq. and Symm. ἑρμηνεῖς σοῦ.
Job xxxiil. 23.

28. DIp WW, princes of the sanctuary,
are the priests, 1 Chron. xxiv. 5. 308)
wip τ, therefore have I desecrated,
&c. affords an excellent sense, and
is to be retained. The LXX., Syr.,
Houbigant, Lowth, and Boothroyd,
unwarrantably substitute yw TM
wm, Aud thy princes have profuned my
sanctuary. The parallelism is decid-
edly against such construction. The
priests were profaned by being re-
moved from the temple, and carried
away promiscuously with the rest of
the people into captivity. “Copula
Ὑ hic pro illativa capitur.” Calvin.

CHAP. XLIV.]

ISATAH.

347

CHAPTER XLIV.

Having promised complete forgiveness towards the close of the preceding
chapter, the prophet now proceeds to predict the prosperous state of religion
as the result of the effusion of the Holy Spirit, 1—5; again asserts the
exclusive claims of Jehovah, 6—8 ; exposes with admirable effect, by the
use of the keenest satire, the folly and absurdity of idolatry, 9—20 ; re-
sumes the joyful subject of emancipation, 21—23 ; and then re-asserts the
Divine supremacy as evinced in the frustration of the heathen oracles, and
the fulfilment of the predictions respecting the expedition of Cyrus, whom

he expressly names, 24—28,

1 YeET now, hear, O Jacob! my servant,
And Israel! whom I have chosen ;

2 Thus saith Jehovah, thy Maker,
He that formed thee, and helped thee from the womb:
Fear not, O my servant Jacob!
O Jeshurun! whom I have chosen.

3 For I will pour water upon the thirsty soil,
And streams upon the dry ground ;
I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed,
And my blessing upon thine offspring :

4 So that they shall grow up as among the grass;
As willows by the watercourses.

5 One shall say, I am Jehovah’s;

2. The womb in which the Israelites
had been was Egypt: their birth, the
exodus. pt, a poetical diminutive of
affection; hence the LXX. ἠγαπημένος.
The root is W= Wry, fo be straight,
right, upright, righteous. οἱ Nour. εὐθὺς.
Jehovah recognises the Jews in this
character in consideration of their
entire abandonment of idolatry, and
return to his service. It is in this
sense that their ancient kings are often
said to have done wn, that which was
right in the eyes of the Lord. Comp.
Deut. xxxii. 15, xxxiii. 5, 26.

4. The conjunction Ὁ in 37x) is to
be taken ἐκβατικῶς, so that; in conse-

quence of the effusion, &c. Instead
of 723, five MSS., five more originally,
now one, twelve printed editions, and
the LXX., read p23, which may have
been the primitive lection. Forty-
five MSS., originally ten more, now
two, and seven editions, read 123 ; and
a few }22; according to which the
meaning would be iz a grassy place.
The images here employed denote
luxuriance and abundance.

5. Not only should true religion
flourish among the natural posterity
of Jacob ; numerous proselytes would
joyfully participate in their privileges,
Comp. Zech, viii. 23. πὶ repeated de-

348 ι

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XLIV.

Another shall distinctly avow the name of Jacob ;
And another shall inscribe on his hand: JEHOVAH’S;
And shall speak honourably of the name of Israel.
6 Thus saith Jehovah, the king of Israel,
And his Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts :
I am the First, I also am the Last;
And besides me there is no God.
7 For who like me hath announced ?
Let him even declare it, and arrange it for me,

notes number and diversity. See Ps.
Ixxxvul. 4,6. Their profession of the
true religion should be open and
visible. ‘Ow 8p cannot here signify
to call upon, so that prayers should be
addressed to the patriarch Jacob, or
to the people collectively, but ἕο pro-
claim, enounce the name of any one,
Ps. xlix. 12; Isa. xii. 4.” Hitzig. This
is so far good ; but there seems to be
further included in the phrase, as here
used, the idea of so employing the
name as to indicate that those to whom
it belongs are alone to be regarded as
worshippers of the true God. The
use of 723 as a synonymous verb in
the corresponding member of the
parallelism confirms this interpre-
tation. This verb in Chaldee signifies

to address a person by his title ; es

in Arab. significavit aliquid nomine
improprio, cognominavit, blanditus est cir-
cumlocutione ; and in Hebrew the ac-
ceptation is obviously that of speaking
of any one in a flattering or honourable
manner. See Job xxxu. 21, 22; Isa.
xlv. 4. Symm. renders 87’, passively,
κληθήσεται. The LXX. have βοήσεται
for both verbs. The words 1? 17» may
either be rendered, he shall write with
his hand, i. e. subscribe, as one does
a document or declaration ; or, he shall
inscribe on his hand the word, 7.
The former mode of construction
Déderlein, Dathe, Rosenmiiller, in his
Schol. V. T. in Compend. redact, Ge-
senius, and Jenour, prefer; but the
latter, first adopted by the LXX.,
ἕτερος ἐπιγράψει χειρὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ
εἰμὶ, is that approved by Michaelis,
Lowth, Tingstad., v.d. Palm, Booth-
royd, Hitzig,and Scholz. The Hebrew
is simply, he shall write his hand, ‘Vis

the Accusative of object, governed by
any. The language is figurative, and
is borrowed from the ancient custom
of burning marks into the hand, or
some other part of the body, for the
purpose of expressing the name of the
person to whom one belonged. Thus
the slave had the name of his master ;
the soldier of his commander; and
the idolater of his god. See Spencer
de Leg. Hebreor. lib. 11. cap. xx.
Comp. Ezek. ix. 4; Rev. xiii. 16. For
the force of 7, comp. 7? Ὁ, Exod.
Xxxii. 26; and for the accomplishment
of the prophecy in the times between
the return of the Jews from Babylon,
and the advent of Christ, see the note
on chap. xix. 23.

6. TSW) ΟΝ Ὅν, 7 am the First,
and I am the Last,—a sublime character
of the Deity, by which he vindicates
to himself absolute eternity and su-
premacy. He is the infinitely perfect
Being—the First Cause and Last End
of all things. Comp. chap. xli. 4,
xlviii. 12. In Rev. 1. 17, ii. 8, and
xxii. 13, our Saviour appropriates the
attributes to himself, without re-
striction or reservation. Compare
the language of Orpheus, Zed, ἀρχὴ
πάντων, πάντων τε τελετὴ, Hym. xiv. 7:
and Ζεὺς πρῶτος ἐγένετο---Ζεὺς ὕστατος.
Dr. Bloomfield on Rev. i. 11.

7. By Dv Dy, the ancient people, some
understand the Hebrews ; but it is
preferable to interpret the phrase, as
Ezek. xxvi. 20, of the oldest inha-
bitants of the globe ; so that the
meaning will be, from the most ancient
times. Though the Jews were the
depositaries of the ancient prophecies,
and most of them were delivered by
persons belonging to that nation, yet
others were announced long before

CHAP. XLIV. |

ISAIAH.

349

From the time that I settled the ancient people ;
Or, let them declare to them future things, things that shall

happen.
8 Fear not, neither be terrified ;

Have I not of old published it to thee, and declared it ?

Ye therefore are my witnesses.
Is there a God besides me ?

There is, indeed, no Rock ; I know of none.

9 All that form a graven image are vanity ;
And their objects of delight profit not :—
Yea, they are themselves witnesses ;

They neither see nor know ;
That they may be ashamed.

10 Who hath formed a god,

And cast an image, that profiteth nothing ?

1

Behold! all his associates shall be ashamed :

For the workmen themselves are of men:
Let them all assemble; let them stand up ;
They shall be afraid and ashamed together.

12

The smith prepareth an axe, and worketh in the coals ;

He fashioneth it also with hammers, and worketh it with his

powerful arm ;

they had a national existence. Be-
tween nvoR and 781m there is no
essential difference of meaning ; they
are merely synonymes, employed to de-
note the certainty of the future events.
Twelve MSS., originally another, and
one by correction, read Wx, without
1; as does also the Syriac. 102 172,
let them—the fictitious gods—declare
to them, i.e. their worshippers : or, the
Dative may be the dativus commodi:
let the idolaters declare, in vindication
of the claims of their deities.

8, 3n, in two MSS., 371A, is a ἅπαξ

Aey., but cognate with the Arab. δ)»;

pre metu attonitus fuit. The root AY is
related to the verb ἣν ; Theod. μὴ θαμ-
βεῖσθε.

9. The exposure of idolatry in this
and the following verses is inimitably
forcible and beautiful. With the most
exact disposition of the parts, are
combined an exactness and vividness
of delineation, a pointedness of sar-

casm, a force of argument, and a con-
cinnity and elegance of expression,
which entitle the passage to the
highest place among the compositions
of our seer. OF TOT mean the objects
of their idolatrous attachment, their
idols, which they procured at much
trouble and expense. The four extra-
ordinary points over 727 were designed
by the punctuators to fix the attention
of the reader on the dumb idols being
constituted witnesses against the stu-
pidity of their worshippers.

10. What is here put as a question
is the real fact of the case. The
question is strongly ironical.

11. yun, all who assist the idol-
maker. "If they are themselves of
human origin, what absurdity for them
to pretend to impart divinity ? Comp.
Acts xvii. 29.

12. “13 OW, the fabricator of iron, 15
the smith ; ; just as oxy om, the fabri-
cator of wood, ver. 13, is the car penter.
Before ὙΠῸ supply 21 or 8. The

xX X

250

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XLIY.

He becometh hungry, and hath no strength ;
He drinketh no water, and is faint.

13

The carpenter stretcheth out the line ;

He sketcheth its figure with a sharp tool ;

He worketh it with chisels ;

He marketh it off with a compass ;
He maketh it into human shape,

After the beauty of a man ;
To dwell in a house.
14

He heweth down cedars for himself ;

He taketh also the ilex and the oak ; ,
And what he deemeth firm among the trees of the forest ;
He planteth the pine, and the rain nourisheth it.

substantive, 575, properly signifies
what is black; charcoal, coal: Arab.

» multum niger fuit : and = carbo.

The point of the argument in this verse
consists in a human being putting
forth all his might in merely forming
an instrument to be afterwards em-
ployed in making a god, while he is
reminded by the cravings of nature
that he is himself a weak and de-
pendent creature.

13. The axe having been prepared
for the use of the carpenter, his share
in the business of god-making is next
graphically described. He first of all
measures off the piece of wood which
is to form the idol ; then cuts it into
a rude shape; after which he takes
the exact dimensions of the several
parts, and brings out a due proportion;
and finishes by subjecting it to those
nicer operations by which it assumes
the graceful appearance of the human

form. WY, Arab. οἵ μον, acus sutorum,

subula, stylus, Aq. mapaypadis, a sharp
instrument, graver, &c. Comp. the
Talmudic 01, DoW, to draw lines by
cutting them into the wood or stone.
This signification is better supported
than that of @ coloured line or cord,
such as carpenters alsouse. Whether
m2 15 to be understood of an ordinary
house, or of a temple, which it also signi-
fies, is doubtful. Idols were set up
in both,

14. The absurdity of idolatry is
next exposed by shewing that there
was nothing supernatural about the
materials of which the gods were
made. The wood was either such as
grew spontaneously, or such as the
carpenter had planted for a supply.
ΤῊΣ is the Infin. absolute, used for
the finite verb. m7, most probably,
as the Vulg. renders, ¢he tlex, a species
of oak, so called from its peculiar
hardness and strength. Comp. the

Arab. ip , durus, validus, rigidus fuit.

Celsius, Hierobotan. tom. ii. p. 269.
Its occurrence in connexion with 7x
is in favour of this meaning. ix,
LXX. πίτυς ; Vulg. pinus. This, which
is the most ancient, is most probably
the true interpretation of the word.
Others take it to mean ornus, the

ash; and others, the Arab. ΠΝ a

thorny tree, which grows in Arabia
Petraea. 19 yas) most moderns render,
and chooseth for himself; but no such
signification can fairly be brought out
of the verb. It has merely been
adopted from a supposed exigency of
the place. Lowth, /ayeth in good store ;
others otherwise. I do not see why
we may not here apply the well-
known principle, that verbs in Piel
frequently express, not the reality or
intensity of what is signified by the
primitive form, but what is ¢hougit or
conceived of in reference to it. The

CHAP. XLIV.]

ISATAH.

351

15 They serve a man even for fuel ;
For he taketh of them, and warmeth himself ;
He also kindleth a fire, and baketh bread ;
He even maketh a god, and bendeth down to it;
He maketh a graven image, and worshippeth it.

16
On part of it he eateth flesh ;

Part of it he burneth in the fire ;

He roasteth a roast, and eateth his full;
He also warmeth himself, and saith,
Ah! I am warm, I see the fire.

17

But the remainder of it he maketh a god, his graven image ;

He falleth down to it, and worshippeth it ;
He also prayeth to it, and saith,
Deliver me, for thou art my God.

18

They know not, neither do they understand ;

For their eyes are plastered over, so that they cannot see ;
Their hearts, that they cannot perceive.

19

say :

Yea, none reflecteth in his mind:
He hath neither the knowledge, nor the intelligence

Part οἵ τὸ I have burned in the fire ;

I have also baked bread over the coals thereof ;

I have roasted flesh, and eaten it.

Shall I then make the remainder of it an abomination ?
Shall I bow down to a clump of wood ?

words are thus a periphrase, denoting
whatever other trees the carpenter
might find suitable to his purpose.

15. A similar exposure of the ab-
surdity of idol-worship is given by
Horace :

“Olim truncus eram ficulnus, inutile
lignum, ;

Cum faber incertus, scamnum facer-
etne Priapum,

Maluit esse Deum.”—~Sq/é. i. 8. 1.

Comp. also Wisdom xiii. 11—13, which
is manifestly an imitation of this pas-
sage in Isaiah.

16. V3 >Y, on a part of it, i.e. the
wood, by which is meant the plate or
dish on which the meat was served.
m1, ¢o see, the Hebrews employ to
describe perception by any of the

to
senses, as well as by the eyes. Pis-
cator, “Sensi calorem ignis.” It is

a natural way of expressing the cause
of the heat derived from fire.

18. 7, from m7, or, if pointed
mm, from 7, fo plaster, close up: Syr.
‘Sa. Comp. chap. vi. 10. For the

negative force of Ὁ in Mixy and 72079,
see chap. xvil. 1.

19. The slightest degree of con-
sideration must convince the idolater
of the absurdity of his conduct.
mavin, an object of abhorrence, is not
the term which the speaker can be
supposed to have selected ; but it is
employed by Isaiah to express the
detestation in which the Jews were
taught to hold every object of heathen
worship,

352

20 He feedeth upon ashes ;

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XLIV.

A deluded heart hath turned him aside ;
So that he cannot extricate himself, nor say,
[5 there not a lie in my right hand ?

21

Remember these things, O Jacob !

O Israel! for thou art my servant :
I have formed thee ; thou art my servant:
O Israel! thou shalt not forget me.

22

[ have blotted out as a cloud thy transgressions,
And as a thick cloud thy sins :

Return to me, for I have redeemed thee.

23

Sing, O ye heavens! for Jehovah hath done it ;

Shout, ye lower parts of the earth!
Burst into song, O ye mountains!
Thou forest, and every tree therein !
For Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob,
And glorified himself in Israel.

24

Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer,

Kiven He that formed thee from the womb:
1 am Jehovah, the Maker of all;

20. For the phrase ἜΝ 7Y4, comp.
mi ivy, Hos. xii. 2. Both indicate
the pursuit of what can yield no
substantial good. For the rest of the
verse, Comp. πλανῶντες kal πλανώμενοι,
2 Tim. iii. 13.

21. Jehovah now directly addresses
the Jews in Babylon, and calls upon
them, while they looked around and
witnessed innumerable instances of
the stupidity and absurdity which
had just been described, to contrast
with the condition of such degraded
Adolaters the relation in which, as his
people, they stood to him, and the
benefits which he had conferred, and
would still confer upon them. 22,
the LXX., Syr., Vulg., Chald., Jarchi,
Musculus, Michaelis, Dathe, Déder-
lein, Tingstadius, Hensler, Méller,
Hitzig, and Scholz, render, forget me
not, ΟΥ̓, thou shalt not forget me, which
better suits the connexion than the
rendering of the Com. Ver., Lowth,
Boothroyd, Jenour, Gesen., &c.

22, 23. An announcement of the
complete pardon of the sins for which
the Jews had been carried captive to

Babylon; their repentance and deli-
verance ; and a powerful apostrophe,
by which the whole of nature is
summoned to celebrate the event.
Nothing can exceed the sublimity
and beauty of the latter verse.

24, The Ὁ in 83, “ from the womb,”
is not to be pressed, so as to exclude
their formation iz it. The phrase
means, from the earliest period of
existence. Instead of the Chethib,
ὮΝ, thirty-one MSS., seventeen edi-
tions, the LXX., and Vulg., read Ὁ
‘nx, who was with me? but this divi-
sion quite breaks in upon the sym-
metry of the passage. The Keri,
‘pyn, from, or by myself, is therefore to
be adopted: it is exhibited in the
text of fifteen MSS.; four editions,
among which the Soncin., Rabboth,
and the Syr. Gesenius aptly com-

pares comic we? in the Arab. ver-

sion of John viii. 28. In this and
the following verses, Jehovah asserts
the exclusiveness of his creative and
providential power. He alone is God:
besides him there is none. else.

CHAP. XLIV.]|

ISAIAH.

That stretched forth the heavens alone ;
That spread out the earth by myself ;

25 That frustrateth the signs of the impostors ;

And sheweth the diviners to be fools :
That refuteth the sages,
And proveth their knowledge to be folly :

26 That establisheth the word of his servant,

And accomplisheth the counsel of his messengers :

That saith of Jerusalem, She shall be inhabited ;
And of the cities of Judah, They shall be built ;

353

- And, I will restore her desolate places :
27 He that saith to the deep, Be dry ;

And, I will dry up thy rivers:

28 He that saith of Cyrus, My Shepherd ;

25. By nin are meant the portenta,
prodigia, or omens from which the
augurs of the ancient pagans pre-
tended to foretel lucky or unlucky
events, such as the flight, chattering
and singing of birds, appearances in
the heavens, &c. o72 Michaelis ren-
ders die Hinsiedler, i.e. “hermits,” and
remarks that, in the East, such per-
sons are addicted to soothsaying. It
rather signifies dies, from 113, to be
singular ; things which exceed belief ;
and hence, by an easy transition, fa/se-

hoods. Comp. the Syr, |,=, commen-

tus est. The abstract is here put for
Dy ΣΝ, authors of falsehoods, i.e. im-
postors.

26. A distinct recognition of the
predictions uttered by Isaiah and
other prophets respecting the restora-
tion from Babylon. The 7zy of the
Divine messengers does not mean
any counsel or advice of their own,
tendered to the Jews, but the purpose
of Jehovah which they were com-
missioned toannounce. It is parallel
with 721, which means the revealed
word of God. Dw being a femin.
when the city is meant, 2417 must be
the third person sing. fem.; to agree
with which, ? is to be rendered of,
respecting, aS not unfreq. after verbs
of speaking. Thus also the following,
ΤΟΙ ; and 723, ver. 28,

27. The commentators are generally
agreed that this verse contains a pre-
diction of the stratagem adopted by
Cyrus, by which he easily effected
the capture of Babylon. By making
a trench from the Euphrates to the
empty marsh, which anciently formed
the artificial lake Nitocris, he diverted
the water from its usual channel, so
as to leave the river fordable by his
infantry, who marched straight up
its bed into the city. Herodot. 1.
185, 190; Xenoph. Cyroped. vii.
Perhaps there is likewise a reference
to his diverting the waters of the
Gyndes into a hundred and sixty
trenches. That the words of the
prophet are to be taken in a literal
sense, appears on comparing them
with Jer. 1. 38, which contains a
similar prediction.

28. Cyrus, the Persian monarch, by
whom Babylon was to be taken, and
the Jews restored to their own land,
is now introduced by name: wy,

Pers. ype oF Dy MU yg; Hur,
Khur, Khurshid, which signifies the
Sun. Thus, in the book entitled Sad-

der, ye 2. Xe, the Moon and the Sun ;

ane eee
heart was brighter than the light of the

854

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XLV.

And, He shall perform all my pleasure :
That saith of Jerusalem, She shall be built ;
And of the temple, It shall be founded.

Swit. CO 9 5- Abulfeda explains by
meisll gins, the splendour of the Sun.

The word frequently occurs in the poet
Ferdusi, who also uses Luss >

of a priest of the Sun. Ctesias and
Plutarch derive the name from the
same source: Κύρος---ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου.
Thus the Etymolog. Mag.: Κόρος ὁ

βασιλεὺς τῶν Περσῶν ὁ παλαιός. Ἡλίου

γὰρ ἔχει τὸ ὄνομα. Κοῦρον γὰρ καλεῖν
Sez) ς la \ ω
εἰώθασιν of Πέρσαι τὸν Ἥλιον. If we

reject the ὦ in wy3, as merely a ter-
mination, expressing the , « of the

ei
Persic Διὸ 25 we have in the He-

brew the exact form of this ancient
name ; only pointing it with Shurec,
instead of Holem. Infidel critics
stumble at this express mention of
the name of Cyrus by Isaiah, who
flourished so long before his appear-
ance ; but king Josiah was likewise
predicted by name, upwards of three
centuries before his birth, 1 Kings
xii. 2. Cyrus was the son of Cam-
byses king of Persia, by Mandane,
a daughter of Astyages, king of the
Medes. When only sixteen years of
age, he commanded an army against
the Assyrians ; he afterwards assisted
his uncle Cyaxares IT. in an expedition
against the Babylonians, on which

occasion he obtained the command
of all the Median troops; defeated
Creesus, king of Lydia ; and soon after
put an end to the Chaldzan monarchy,
by the conquest of Babylon, in the
year B.c. 5388 or 539. On his return
to Persia he married his cousin, and
obtained with her the right of succes-
sion to the crown of Media, which he
united in his own person with that of
Persia on the death of Cyaxares, in
536 or 535. Scarcely had he ascended
the throne of the Medo-Persian em-
pire, than he issued his celebrated
edict, granting permission to the Jews
to return to their own country, and
ordering them to be furnished with
what was requisite for rebuilding the
temple, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 22, 23; Ezra i.
He died at the age of seventy, after a
reign of thirty years. For his cha-
racter, see on chap. xli. 2. According
to Josephus, Antiq. lib. XI. 1. 2, the
Jews in Babylon shewed this text to
Cyrus, which he acknowledged in his
edict, and ascribed his possession of
universal empire to the God of Israel.
After ‘YS supply 7. Kings and princes
are called shepherds in Scripture, as
they are in the ancient classics. It
was a title to which Cyrus was par-
tial: it being a proverbial saying with
him, “ A good prince‘and a good shep-
herd have the same duties,” Cyropzed.
Vili.

CHAPTER XLV.

A continuation of the subject more prominently introduced at the end of the
preceding chapter—the commission of Cyrus. That monarch is now
directly addressed, and receives gracious.promises of Divine direction, sup-

port, and success, 1—5.

The prophet then specifies one of the grand

CHAP. XLV.] ISAIAH.

355
designs to be effected by the Persian conquests, 6, 7 ; predicts, in the form
of hortatory address, the joyful arrival of the deliverance from Babylon, 8 ;
denounces judgment upon the unbelieving and captious Jews of the capti-
vity, 9, 10 ; expostulates with them on their presumption in arraigning the
Divine conduct, 11; asserts the sovereignty of Jehovah, and his determina-
tion to employ Cyrus as his instrument, 12, 13; foretels the great accession
of proselytes which should succeed the captivity, 14 ; expresses the confi-
dence exercised by the pious in God, notwithstanding the darkness of his
dispensations, that deliverance should arrive, the Divine predictions be ful-
filled, and idolaters confounded, 15—19; calls upon all to forsake their
idolatry, and return to the service of the true God, 20—22 ; and concludes
by announcing the superior blessings to be enjoyed under the reign of Mes-

siah, 23—25.

1 Tuus saith Jehovah to his Anointed, to Cyrus,
Whom 1 hold by the right hand ;

To subdue nations before him,
And ungird the loins of kings

.
7

To open before him the folding doors,
And the gates shall not be shut.

I will go before thee,

And will make the rough places plain ;

The folding doors of brass I will break in pieces ;

And cut in sunder the bars of

1. Cyrus is called the “ Anointed”
of the Lord, because he had, in his
providence, appointed him to the rule
under which the Jews were to be
restored. The allusion is to the
ancient rite of anointing with oil
those who were invested with royal
dignity. Judges ix. 8; 1 Sam. ix. 16,
xv. 1; 1 Kings i. 34. OH», fo wubind,
ungird, 18 opposed to x, which sig-
nifies 20 bind up, gird, &c., and here
means to deprive of power and dig-
nity : Oriental monarchs being accus-
tomed to wear richly decorated girdles,
which at once gave strength to their
bodies, and added to the splendour of
their state. For the nations subdued
by Cyrus, see on chap. xli. 2, and Xe-
nophon as there quoted. on and
oy are synonymes; only the for-
mer refers to the two divisions, or
folding-doors by which the gates were
secured. The gates here spoken of

i

iron.

are those of Babylon, of which there
were an hundred, all of brass. TvAae
δὲ ἐνεστᾶσι πέριξ τοῦ τείχεος ἑκατὸν
XAAKEAI ΠΑ͂ΣΑΙ. Herodot. i. 179.
See also Euseb. Preeparat. Evangel. 1.
ix.c.41. By a remarkable providence,
and contrary to what might have been
expected on the part of the besieged,
the gates leading to the river had been
left open on the night of the attack by
Cyrus, in consequence of which his
troops found no difficulty in entering
the city. Even the gates of the palace
were incautiously opened during the
tumult occasioned by the invasion.
So minutely was this prediction ful-
filled.

2. God promises to remove every
impediment out of the way of Cyrus.
opm, LXX. ὄρη, heights, raised, or

rough places; Arab. yom intumutt,
.,,Δ5. locus declivis, quo quis delabitur.

956

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XLY.

3 I will also give thee the treasures that are in darkness,
And the stores that are in hidden places ;
That thou mayest know, that I am Jehovah ;
The God of Israel, that hath announced thy name.

4 For the sake of Jacob my servant,

And Israel my chosen,

I called thee distinctly by thy name;
I made honourable mention of thee, though thou knewest me

not.

5 Iam Jehovah, and there is none else;

Besides me there is no God:

I have girded thee, though thou knewest me not ;
6 That men may know at the rising of the sun,

And at his setting, that there is none beside me:

I am Jehovah, and there is none else:
7 The Former of light, and the Creator of darkness ;

3. Not only did Cyrus seize upon
the immense riches of Babylon, Jer.
1. 37; but, on subduing Creesus, king
of Lydia, that monarch delivered up
to him his treasures, amounting in
value to 126,224,000/. sterling. See
Cyropeed. vil.; Plin, Hist. Nat. xxxiii.
2.15. Brerewood de Ponderibus, cap.
x. Costly stores are generally de-
posited in places remote from the
public gaze; and, especially in the
East, under ground, that they may be
safe from plunderers.

4, 7228, [ have made honourable men-
tion of thee. See on chap. xliv. 5. It
was no surname, but his own proper
name that Jehovah gave to Cyrus.
The meaning is, that he had spoken
of him by the prophet, in terms such
as had never been employed in refer-
ence to any other heathen prince,—
giving him the character of righteous,
declaring that he loved him, and that
he would protect and prosper him.
Chap. xli. 2, xliv. 28, xlv. 2, 3, 13,
xlviii. 14.

5,6. Though the Persians, among
whom Cyrus had received his educa-
tion, held the worshippers of idols in
abhorrence, they had no proper idea
of the only living and true God. Je-
hovah repeatedly asserts this fact, and
vindicates to himself the claims of

exclusive divinity. The conquests of
Cyrus prepared the way for a new
state of things, both in the East and
the West: vast political changes en-
sued, which eventually resulted in
the diffusion of revealed truth through-
out the world; not to mention the
striking effect which the recognition
of Jehovah in the royal edict must
have produced, especially in all the
countries in which the Jews were
scattered. The πίη 72 is doubtless
the pronominal suffix, without Mappic.
Comp. chap. xxiii. 17,18. The form
of the noun, in every other instance,
is 12. The two most distant geo-
graphical points known to the ancients
are fixed on, including all the regions
between.

7. This verse asserts the superiority
of Jehovah to the dualistic powers of
Parsism. The Magi taught, that there
are two co-eternal supramundane
beings: Ormuzd, the pure and eternal
principle of light, the source of all
that is good; and Ahriman, the source
of darkness, and fountain of all evil,
both physical and moral. These two
divide the empire of the world, and
are in perpetual conflict with each
other. The system in which the doc-
trine of these antagonistic principles is
taught is contained in the Zend-Avesta,

CHAP. XLY.|

_ISATAH.

o07

The Maker of peace, and the Creator of evil:
I am Jehovah, the Maker of all these.

8 Drop, ye heavens, from above ;

Yea, let the clouds shower down righteousness ;
Let the earth open, that Salgado and righteousness may be

produced ;

Let her bring them forth at once :

I, Jehovah, create it.

9 Wo to him that contendeth with Him that formed him !—

A potsherd of the potsherds of

the earth !

Shall the clay say to its potter, What makest thou?
Or thy work, He hath no hands ?

10

Wo to him that saith to his father, What begettest thou ?

Or to the woman, With what art thou in pain ?

11 Thus saith Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker:
As for things to come, will ye question me concerning my children?
Or will ye give me a charge ae the work of my hands ?

I made the earth,
And created man upon it ;

12

or Living Word, commonly ascribed
~to Zoroaster, the great reformer of
the Parsees. In opposition to all such
ideas, God claims an eternal indepen-
dence and sovereignty. Both good
and evil are under his absolute direc-
tion and control. δ being here op-
posed to . Οὐ, peace, or prosperity,
must mean affliction, adversity, το.
Comp. Amos 1. 6. °
_ 8. I consider mp1 xx to be the
nominatives to the "plural m1; and
yw that to moxn, which makes all
plain. The Tae, Syr., and Vulg.,
read the verb in the singular. ,
9—12. That the infidel and discon-
tented portion of the Jewish people
is here intended, seems beyond dis-
pute. No arguments could more forci-
bly evince the extreme arrogance and
folly of creatures pretending to scan
and carp at the plans of Divine Pro-
vidence. They are directly ad homi-
nem. Comp. Rom. ix. 20, &., where
the Apostle is asserting the sovereign
right which God has to dispose of all
creatures, according to his holy and
righteous pleasure. The m8 in wy
MOIR Wn creates some difficulty.

It seems to be used in the sense of
closeness, union, society, identity of rela-
tionship, &c. Comp. Gen. v. 24, vi. 18.
It is thus equivalent to one of, on a par
with, of, a8 toa common nature. Thus
Oo νὰ ὡ - Qo
the Syr. {S3}> aD eae «Ὁ [Dyae,
a, potsherd of the potsherds of the
earth.” The language is that of con-
tempt, being expressive of the mean
and worthless character of the subject
spoken of. The LXX. and Theod.
have read ww instead of win. The
close connexion of the word with 13%,
the potter, shews that the Masoretic
pronunciation of it is correct. ND
is subordinated to ‘27 in the Future,
and both are to be rendered interro-
gatively. The indicative form, “ask
ye me,” &c., is unsuitable to the con-
nexion. The expostulation concludes
with an unanswerable argument for
acquiescence in the special arrange-
ments of providence, drawn from the
creation and government of the Uni-
verse. The use of 8 before '? is
emphatic.

358

13

14

ISATAH.

It was my hands that spread out the heavens ;

I also gave charge to all their host.

I have raised him up for righteousness,

And will direct all his ways ;

He shall build my city, and release my captives ;
But not for hire, nor for reward,

Saith Jehovah of Hosts.

Thus saith Jehovah :

The wealth of Egypt; and the gains of Cush,
And the Sabeeans, men of stature,

Shall pass over to thee, and be thine ;

They shall follow thee ;

They shall pass over in chains ;

They shall even prostrate themselves to thee ;
They shall pray toward thee :
Only in thee [shall they say]

(CHAP. XLV.

is God, and there is none else;

13. Cyrus is again pointedly referred
to, as the instrument of restoring the
Jewish polity. In accomplishing this
object, he was not impelled by any
prospect of remuneration, but by a
sense of justice, and a regard to the
command of God. Comp. lii. 3.

14, From the similarity of this verse
with chap. xlii. 3, Munster, Musculus,
Tirinus, Grotius, and v.d. Palm, have
been induced to apply it to Cyrus, but
the words, > 3 9x, oxly in thee is God,
render it impossible consistently to
adopt such an interpretation. The
punctators, who are followed, among
the moderns, by Michaelis, Déderlein,
Dathe, Gesenius, Hitzig, and Scholz,
apply it to Jerusalem, and rightly.
The prophecy refers to the result of
the Persian conquests in Egypt, &c.,
as regards the Jews and their religion.
Favoured as the people of God were
by the victors, the inhabitants of these
countries would be led to respect
them, inquire into their peculiar polity,
send them munificent presents, and,
in great numbers, become proselytes
to their religion. Comp. chap. xviii.
7, xix. 18—25; Zeph. iii. 10; Ps.
Ixviili. 29—31; Zech. viii. 20—23 ;
Acts viii. 27. The countries here
mentioned were celebrated in ancient
times for their immense trade, com-
merce, and opulence. They are those

specified chap. xliii. 3. Of the ox320,
inhabitants of Meroé, it is added, that
they were ΠῚ "22x, men of extension, or
length; i.e. tall of stature. LXX.
ἄνδρες ὑψηλοὶ. Comp. 1 Chron. xi.
23. ‘The Ethiopians are described by
Herodotus, Ὁ. ii. 114, as ἄνδρας peyi-
στους καὶ καλλίστους καὶ μακροβιωτά-
τους, “of the highest stature, the most
beautiful and longlived of men.” See
also the same book, 20: λέγονται εἶναι
μέγιστοι ἀνθρώπων ; and Solin. cap. 30,
Aithiopes duodecim pedes longi. Aga-
tharchides also, speaking of the Sa-
beans, sayS: Td σώματα ἔστι τῶν κατοι-
κούντων ἀξιολογώτερα. ‘The coming
of these people zz chains is a figurative
mode of expression, denoting the sub-
missiveness with which they should
present themselves as worshippers of
Jehovah. 2m 728 does not mean
that they were to worship or make
supplication to the Jews, but that
such of them as could not personally
come to Jerusalem would direct their
worship towards the temple in that
city, as the place of Jehovah’s earthly
residence. Comp. 1 Kings viii. 35,
where the phrase 137 Di97 Ox n7, to
pray towards this place, occurs, as does
mIn 37 oN, toward this house, 42; and
VT TT TD Ox, to Jehovah, in the direc-
tion of the city,44; ἕο. Comp. also
Dan. vi. 10, 11.

CHAP. XLY.]

There is no God.

ISAIAH.

309

Surely, thou art a God that hidest thyself,
O God of Israel, the Saviour !
They shall be ashamed ; and shall all of them be confounded ;

They shall go into confusion together that fabricate images.

But Israel shall be saved through Jehovah,
With an everlasting salvation ;

Ye shall not be ashamed, nor confounded,

To eternal ages.
18
He is God;

For thus saith Jehovah, the Creator of the heavens,

The Former of the earth, and its Maker;

It was He that established it ;

He did not create it in vain ;

He formed it to be inhabited :

I am Jehovah, and there is none else.

19

I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth;

I have not said to the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain.
I, Jehovah, give utterance to righteousness ;

I declare things that are right.

20 Assemble and come;

Draw near together, ye of the nations that have escaped ;
They have no knowledge that carry about their wooden idol ;

15. In this verse, the church ad-
mires the mysterious character of the
Divine counsels and modes of action,
with special reference to the captivity
and restoration. Comp. Rom, x1. 33;
Deut. xxix. 29.

16. From the time of the conquest
of Babylon, idolatry began to decline ;
and shortly after the Christian era, in
consequence of the spread of the
Gospel, it disappeared from the best
portions of Asia, Africa, and Europe.

17. This verse forms an antithesis
to the preceding, and teaches that
those who serve the true God shall
never be deprived of his protection
and favour.

18. There seems to be here a spe-
cial reference to the deserted state of
the Holy Land during the captivity,
while, at the same time, the sole
divinity of Jehovah is re-asserted.

19. An appeal to the publicity and
perspicuity with which the Divine

predictions had been ‘announced ;
with manifest reference to the re-
sponses of the heathen oracles, which
were given from deep and obscure
caverns, or the hidden recesses of
temples: and were, at the best, artful
and equivocal; and, in cases of ex-
treme difficulty, were altogether with-
held. See my Lectures on Divine
Inspiration, pp. 251, 252, 555. The
prophets of Jehovah exercised their
ministry in public, before all classes ;
they foretold contingent future events
in language the most explicit and
unambiguous ; and, committing their
predictions to writing, deposited them
in the hands of the nation, as vouchers
for their Divine commission. Comp.
John xviii. 20. prs and oD are
synonymes.

20—22. The idolaters are now ad-
dressed; the folly of their idolatry is
pointed out; the claims of Jehovah,
as the only God, are asserted; and

360

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XLV.

That pray to a god that cannot save.

21 Declare ye, and draw near ;

Let them also hold consultation ;

Who published this of old?

Who declared it from ancient times ?
Was it not I, Jehovah ? for besides me there is no God ;
The righteous God, and the Saviour :

There is none besides me.

All ye ends of the earth;

‘Turn unto me, that ye may be saved,

For I am God, and there is none else.

28 By myself have I sworn;

The word hath proceeded from my mouth ;
It is truth, and shail not return:
That to me every knee shall bend,

Every tongue shall swear.
24

strength ;
To Him he shall come ;

And all shall be put to shame

a call is given to them to turn from
their vain objects of confidence to Him
as their Creator and Portion. That
ora ΘΒ, the escaped of the nations,
means such of the heathen as had
escaped the devastating wars that
were carried on in different parts, and
not the Jews, is evident from the wsus
loquendi. See Judg. xii. 4, 5; Obad.
14. On being obliged to flee, the
idolaters carried about their idols
with them from place to place ; none
of which had either announced the
fall of Babylon, or delivered their
votaries in the hour of distress.
Jehovah had done both to the people
of the Jews. ᾿

23—25, These verses describe ἃ
period when the knowledge and wor-
ship of the true God should be
universal. To mark its importance
and certainty, the prediction is in-
troduced by a solemn Divine oath,
Comp. Jer. xxii. 5; Amos vi. 8;
Heb. vi. 13. None who admit the
inspired authority of Paul can doubt
that there is here a primary and

Only in Jehovah, shall each say, have I righteousness and

direct reference to the Messiah. See
Rom. xiv. 11, and Phil. ii. 10, 11. To
Him, according to the Apostle’s doc-
trine, universal religious homage and
submission are due—such homage and
submission as it would be idolatry to
render to a mere creature. His is the
ὄνομα τὸ ὑπὲρ πᾶν ὄνομα--- ΚΎΡΙΟΣ,
mim, the Incommunicable Name of the
Self-Existent Deity. He is the ΘΕΟΣ
to whom all are responsible for their
actions, as the close connexion be-
tween the verses Rom. xiv. 11 and 12
clearly proves. In the present pas-
sage, which the apostle expressly
quotes with his usual formula γέγραπ-
ται yap, He is presented to view as
the Object of universal worship, the
Source of righteousness and strength

.to his people, and the Inflictor of

punishment upon his enemies. The
nominative to XZ? is 123; but as it
is preceded by ΠΣ, it must be
regarded as having this for its object ;
and the sense is best given by taking
up the latter term separately in the
acceptation, fruth, true, ἕο. Comp.

CHAP. ΧΙΥ1.}

ISATAH.

361

That are incensed against Him,
25 In Jehovah shall all the seed of Israel be justified,

And shall make their boast.

the Arab. (30, verar, veritas. Vi-

tringa, Dathe, Gesenius, Hitzig, and
others, render 128 Ὁ, shall say of me;
but the immediate occurrence of 772
before » makes such construction
harsh and unnatural, I have there-
fore retained the common rendering
of ὁ, there is to me, or I have. The
verb is used, as frequently, in an
impersonal sense. MpTz, righteousness,
is the plural of excellence or emi-
nence ; signifying ¢he most distinguished

righteousness,—the Pauline δικαιοσύνη
Θεοῦ, Rom. i. 17, 111. 21, 22 ; ἡ ἐκ Θεοῦ
δικαιοσύνη, Phil. iii. 9; and the Petrine
δικαιοσύνη τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν καὶ Σωτῆρος
Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. Comp. also chap. li.
Oo Jers Skil, Os ΕΟ ἘΠ 9:1
Cor. i. 30. Since the scene here
described embraces the whole human
family, it is obvious we are to under-
stand by x1 YH, not the natural, but
the spiritual posterity of the patriarch,
whether Jews or Gentiles. Comp.
Rom. iv. 12—17 ; Gal. iii, 26—29.

CHAPTER XLVI.

Isaiah here predicts the downfal of the Babylonian idols, as involved in that
of the city; shews their utter impotence, with which he contrasts the
power and care of Jehovah, that had been all along experienced by the
Jews, 1—4; exposes, in his usual forcible and elegant manner, the absurdity
of idolatry, 5—7 ; asserts the sole claims of the true God, on the ground of
the miracles and prophecies with which the Jewish church had long been
conversant, 8—10 ; repeats the announcement respecting the deliverance to
be effected by Cyrus, 11; and addresses a pointed expostulation to such of
the Jewish captives as might have hardened themselves in sin, 12, 13.

1 Bet boweth down; Nebo stoopeth ;

1. 73, Bel, the principal god of the
Babylonians, “Sacratissimum Assyri-
orum Deum,” Plin. Hist. Nat. 37, 55.
Διὸς, ὃν καλοῦσιν οἱ Βαβυλώνιοι Βῆλον.
Diod. Sic. ii. 8. The name is a con-
traction of 73, the Chaldee pronuncia-

| tion of the Pheenician, ὅν, Baal. He

was called Ζεὺς, and Jupiter, by the
Greeks and Romans, and is supposed
by some to have been the symbol of
the sun; by others, of the planet

Jupiter. The worship of this planet,

under the name of \Wu>, certainly

formed part of the idolatrous rites of
the Sabeans. See Norberg’s Onomast.
p. 28. He had a temple erected to
him, the ruins of which are still
visible in the Birs Nimrood, described
by Mr. Rich, Sir Robt. Ker Porter, and
other travellers. See on chap. xiii, 1.
According to Herodotus, it (Διὸς Βήλου

362

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XLVI.

Their idols are laid on the beasts and the cattle ;
What were borne by you are made into loads,

A burden to the weary beast.

2 They stoop, they bow down together ;
They are not able to deliver the burden ;
Yea, themselves go into captivity.

3 Hearken to me, O house of Jacob!
And all the remnant of the house of Israel !
That have been borne from the belly,
That have been carried from the womb.

4 Even to old age I will be the same;
Even to gray hairs will I carry you:

ἱρὸν) stood on the summit of the top-
most of eight towers, the ascent of
which was on the outside ; the height
of the whole has been computed at
five hundred feet. In the temple was
a large handsome couch, and near it a
golden table, but no statue. Within
the precincts of the temple, however,
on the ground, was another sacred
edifice, within which was an immense
golden statue of Jupiter, ἄγαλμα μέγα
Tov Atos ἔνι κατήμενον χρύσεον. Around
this statue were large tables, which,
with the steps and throne, were all of
gold ; amounting, according to the
estimate of the Chaldeans, to eight
hundred talents in weight. There was
also a golden altar outside this edifice,
and another large altar on which sacri-
fices were offered. Shortly before the
time of Herodotus, there had been in
the sacred enclosure a statue, which
the Chaldeeans affirmed to have been
of solid gold, and twelve cubits in
height. Herod. 1, 181, 182. The high
veneration in which Belus was held
appears from the frequent use of his
name in compound names of persons
living in Babylon, as Baladan, Belte-
shaezar, Belshazzar, Belesis, Belibus, &e.
\23, Nebo, the other idol here specified,
is supposed to have been the symbol
of the planet Mercury, the celestial
scribe and interpreter of the gods,
corresponding to Hermes and Anubis,
of the Egyptians. He was likewise
worshipped by the Sabzeans, in Arabia.
See Norberg’s Onomast. p. 95. Gese-
nius traces the name in 3, prophet,

an interpreter of the Divine will. It
is likewise found in many compound
proper names, as Wadbonasser, Nebu-
chadnezzar, Nebushasban, &c. — The
prophet describes the fall and re-
moval of the Babylonian idols in
language of the keenest satire. They
had formerly been carried about by
the priests in solemn procession, but
should now be broken in pieces, and
borne away by the enemy on the backs
of beasts of burden; which, sinking
down under the weight, they should
not be able to relieve. Nothing was
more natural than the plunder of the
temples, on account of the riches they
contained, especialiy the gold and
silver images. History makes no
mention of Cyrus having removed the
Babylonian idols ; but both Herodotus,
i. 183, and Arrian, vii. 19, 2, state that
Xerxes took away the large golden
statue above described. At πρὸ su-
baud. 272 or m7.

2. The weary beasts fall under the —

load of idols, none of which is able to
help them up. 052, their soul, is a
periphrasis for 727, they. Comp. Hos.
ix. 4, e¢ freg. Crusius, however, thinks
that the prophet may have used the
term 5}, sow/, sarcastically of the
idols, ‘‘ cum anima propria dicta et
vita carerent.” Hypomn. ad Theolog.
Prophet. iii. p. 424.

3, 4. Instead of bearing their God,
the Jews had been graciously borne by
him from the earliest period of their
history; and he would continue to
care for and support them to the last

CHAP. XLVI.]

I have made, and I will bear,

ISATAH.

363

Yea, I will carry, and deliver you.
5 ΤῸ whom can ye liken me, or make me equal?
Or compare me, that we may be like ?
6 They lavish gold out of the bag,
And weigh silver in the balance ;
They hire a goldsmith, that he may make it a god :
They fall down, yea they worship him.
7 They lift him upon their shoulder ;

They carry him about;

They set him down also in his place, and he standeth ;
From his place he will not move:
Yea, they may each cry to him, but he will not answer ;
Nor at all deliver him from his trouble.
8 Remember this, and shew yourselves men ;
Recall it to mind, ye apostates !
9 Remember the former things, of old time,
For 1 am God, and there is none else ;
I am God, and there is none like me:

10

Declaring the end from the beginning,

Even from ancient time things not yet done ;
Saying, My purpose shall stand,

—being the immutable Jehovah.
After Dar subaud. 299, by me,
which would have been inserted, but
for the Ὁ following. Comp. Deut, i.
Sy ext. 11, 12.

5. Comp. chap. xl. 18, 25.

6, 7. The use of the verb ™, Zo
lavish, pour out abundantly, is very
appropriate in application to the idols
of Babylon, many of which appear to
have been of the most costly descrip-
tion. See Dan. iii. 1, and above, ver.
1. The participle is here used for the
finite verb. The picture given of the
stupid conduct of the idol-worshippers
is exceedingly striking, and drawn
quite to the life. Comp. chap. xl. 19,
90, xli. 6, 7, xliv. 9—19; Jer. x. 3—5.

8. Different interpretations have
been given of the ἅπαξ λεγ., TUNNT ;
but the most approved is that which
treats it as a denominative from tx,
a man. \t thus corresponds in form
to ἀνδρίζεσθε, 1 Cor. xvi..13, though
the apostle uses the Greek word in

the sense of acting a brave or cou-
rageous part; whereas, what Isaiah
means is, to act a manly and rational
part, in opposition to the absurd con-
duct of idolaters. Comp. 1 Cor. xiv.

20. Thus the Syr, οἱ δ], de intelli-

gent, act like intelligent beings. Kimchi,
Yaw NN IY NW NTI NA OWIN wo, Be
men and not beasts, which neither under-
stand, nor consider. 'The Conjug. is
Hithpalel, like j33n7 from 73. In
Jer. 1. 38, the Babylonians are said to
have been mad upon idols.

9. Jehovah here appeals to his
miraculous interposition on behalf of
the Jews in ancient times, especially
the stupendous miracles which he had
wrought in Egypt.

10, Ancient predictions of contin-
gent events in the remote future,
likewise evinced the proper deity of
Israel’s God. Some of these had been
announced from the earliest periods

564

11

12

13

ISATAH. [CHAP. XLVII.

And I will do all my pleasure:

Calling from the east, the eagle ;

From a distant land, the man whom I have appointed ;
I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass ;

I have purposed it, I will also do it.

Hearken to me, ye stubborn in heart ;

Ye that are far from righteousness.

I bring near my righteousness ; it shall not be far off;
And my salvation shall not tarry ;

Yea, I will appoint salvation in Zion,

For Israel my glory.

of time, and were recorded in the
public documents of the Jewish nation.
Comp. chap. xli, 22, 23, xliii. 9, xliv.

11. MY, ἀετὸς, a bird of prey, and
specially ¢he eagle, so called from the
impetuosity with which he rushes on

his prey ; Arab. blé, irritavit, ingressus
seu demersus fuit ; Luc, vehementia.

my or DY, fo rush upon. Cyrus is so
called on account of the rapid and
astounding character of his conquests.
Comp. Jer. xlvili. 40; Ezek. xvii. 8 ;
Hos! yi, 1 Hab. 1. 8: (It 15 not 5
little remarkable that Cyrus is the
first of whom we read that introduced
the eagle as a military ensign: Ἢν δὲ
αὐτῷ σημεῖον ἀετὸς χρυσοῦς ἐπὶ δόρατος
μακροῦ ἀνατεταμένος" καὶ νῦν δὲ τοῦτο
ἔτι σημεῖον τῷ Περσῶν βασιλεῖ διαμένει.
_ Cyropeed. vii. near the beginning. For
“inzy, the Keri and numerous MSS.
read Ὧν, which is supported by the
ancient versions; By ‘ney wx is not
meant the man.who is to execute my

purpose, but the man who is the object
of my purpose, the instrument whom
Ihave destined to be the deliverer of
my people. ZAwinglius, Quicquid con-
stituero.

12, 13. 32 ἼΞΝ, French, 165 esprits
forts ; infidel, obstinate ; Symm. σκλη-
ροκάρδιοι. There seems to be here a
momentary transition to a greater
deliverance than that from Babylon,
but for which the latter was to be
preparatory. The persons addressed
did not believe in the possibility of
their restoration to Judea: Jehovah
declares that he would effect a still
more wonderful work—that of re-
demption through the Messiah, in
consequence of whose righteousness
there would be in Zion that salvation
which would be the glory or beauty of
all believers. Comp. chap. xxviii. 14,
as glanced at by Paul, Acts xii. 41.
‘omen, my splendour, 1.e. the splen-
dour which comes from me,” Gesenius ;
but comp. John xvii. 10; 2 Thess,
1 LO,

CHAPTER XLVII.

The subject with which the preceding chapter commenced is continued in
this: viz. the destruction of Babylon, Under the personification of a
delicate, voluptuous, and powerful princess, that city is ordered to descend

CHAP. XLVII. |

ISATAH.

365

from her throne, take the place of a slave, and disappear from the political
horizon, 1—5. Her principal crimes are specified, and condign punishment
is threatened, which all the power of astrology, divination, and magic, should

not be able to avert, 6—15.

1 Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin-daughter of Babylon!
Sit on the ground, without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans!
For thou shalt no longer be called tender and delicate.

2 Take the mill-stones, and grind meal ;

Raise thy veil, lift up the train ;
Uncover the leg; wade through the rivers.

3 Thy nakedness shall be exposed,

And thy shame shall be seen ;

I will take vengeance, and spare no man.

4 As for our Redeemer ;

Jehovah of Hosts is his name,

The Holy One of Israel.

1. The Orientals are accustomed to
speak of cities or empires that have
never been conquered, as virgins ; see
on chap. xxiii. 12, where ΝΣ na nana,
virgin-daughter of Zidon, corresponds to
aaa na nana, virgin-daughter of Babylon.
By daughter is meant the people or
inhabitants. For the idiom, to be
called, meaning to be, see chap. i. 26.
27, here and ver. 5, is used instead
of 8772. The third plural is often to
be taken impersonally, and is best
rendered by our passive. The inha-
bitants of Babylon were notorious for
their luxury, effeminacy, and carnal
indulgences. See Herodot. i, 195,
199 ; Curtius, v. 3.

2. The mill here referred to is a
hand-mill resembling the Scotch quern,
and consisting of an upper and a lower
stone, the latter of which is fixed, and
the former is made to move round
upon it by means of a handle. The
work of grinding is very laborious,
and, in the East, is confined to female
slaves, or other females in low circum-
stances. Burckhardt, speaking of the
inhabitants of Medina and its vicinity,
says: “The women of the cultivators,
and of the inhabitants of the suburbs,
serve in the families of the towns-
people as domestics, principally to grind

corn in the hand-mills.”’ Travels in
Arabia, vol. ii. p. 265. Comp. Exod.
xi. 5, xii. 29: Job xxxi. 10; Matt,
xxiv. 41: δύο ἀλήθουσαι ἐν τῷ μυλῶνι 5
Nidda, fol. 6, 2, “duee mulheres mo-
lentes molis mulinariis ;” where re-
ference is had to the usual custom of
two slaves being employed together
at the hand-mill. Homer's Odyss. vii.
103, 104, xx. 105—108. The whole
verse graphically describes a degraded
and miserable state of captivity.

3. 22 signifies to meet either in a
friendly, or 10 a hostile manner. Here,
from the connexion, the meaning ob-
viously is, meeting and treating any one
kindly, sparing, &c. The idea of peti-
tioning, supplicating, &ec., is, in such
case, commonly implied. ZAwinglius,
“ intercedar, pro flecti me patiar.’” Mus-
culus thinks there is an ellipsis of 3
before O78, and interprets, “1 will not
meet thee as aman, but as God, whom
none can resist ;” and this Kocher
and others approve.

4. This verse is inserted parenthe-
tically with great effect. It contains
the joyous and triumphant language
of the believing Jews recognising In
Jehovah their Almighty Deliverer.
2983 is the Nom. absol.

ZZ

866

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XLVII.

5 Sit thou in silence; yea, go into darkness, O daughter of the

Chaldeans ;

For thou shalt no more be called, The Mistress of Kingdoms.

6 I was angry with my people ;
I profaned my inheritance,

And delivered them into thy hand :
Thou shewedst them no mercy ;
Upon the aged didst thou very heavily lay thy yoke.
7 Thou saidst also, I shall be Mistress for ever,
So that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart ;
Thou didst not reflect on their end.
8 Now, therefore, hear this, O thou voluptuous one !

That dwellest securely ;
She that saith in her heart,

I am, and there is none besides me;

5. Silence and darkness characterise
a state of imprisonment. Captives
were usually shut up in dark dungeons,
far removed from the noisy scenes of
life. Comp. xlii. 7; Lam. ii. 10, iii. 2.
Babylon is here called nixd29 n33, the
Mistress of Kingdoms, because of the
great number of kingdoms which she
conquered, and over which she ruled,
or which were tributary to her. Comp.
Dan. ii. 37, 38, iv. 1. Her condition
was now to be completely reversed:
she was herself to be a captive.

6. For the latter half of the verse,
comp. Jer. 1. 17; li. 34; Lam. iv. 16,
v. 12; Zech. i. 15. Gesenius refers
i to the advanced or aged state of
the Jewish nation ; but the connexion
shews that, literally, old and infirm
persons are meant.

7. Ἢ must either have the Athnach
transferred to it, and be connected
with 7723; or it must be construed
with "2X, and thus will mark the
degree of pride and security in which
Babylon indulged : so as not to lay, &e.,
or, adeo ut, usque adeo ut, or, on to such
a degree ; which expresses the radical
idea of progress, &c., inherent in 77Y.
Two or three MSS. read x. The word
isnot expressed in the ancient versions.
mx, these things, and a, it, in AD ITY,
refer to the conduct of Babylon: the
Fem. gender being frequently em-
ployed to express the Collective

Neuter. Inattention to this circum-
stance, and to the force of the paral-
lelism, has originated the reading
yo IK, which is found in eighteen
MSS., and originally in two more, in
the margin or appendix of two printed
Edd., and in the Vulg.

8. The security of the Babylonians
is thus described by Xenophon: “'The
inhabitants of the city'could not but
laugh at his (Cyrus’s) intention of
besieging them; and knowing that
they had provisions for more than
twenty years, they treated the attempt
with mockery.” Cyrop. vii. 5. For
the natural strength of the city, see
on chap. xiii. 1, Zwinglius justly
observes on "38, J,as here used: “valde
emphaticé pro Ego una, aut Ego sola,
sum scilicet hera,” DB, lit. nothing of
me, i.@.none possessing my prowess,
riches, enjoyments, &c. It seems
better thus to resolve the Yod, than
to regard it as merely Paragogic. The
same form occurs ver. 10, and Zeph.
ii. 15. Others take iy ΒΝ to be in
construction. The meaning is the
same either way. Comp. Martial, lib.
xii. epigr. 8, “ Terrarum dea gentium-
que, Roma, cui par est nihil, et nihil
secundum ;” in connexion with Rev.
xvii. 18, where the language of these
verses is applied to the N. T. Babylon ;
and still more fully, xviii. 7,8. The
metaphor of a virgin is now exchanged

CHAP. XLVII.|

I shall not dwell a widow,

ISATAH

367

Nor know what it is to be childless.
9 There shall even come upon thee both of these,

Suddenly, in one day,

Loss of children, and widowhood :

They shall come upon thee in their perfection ;
In spite of thy numerous sorceries ;

In spite of the vast number of thy spells.

10

Thou didst also trust in thy wickedness ;
Thou saidst, No one seeth me:

Thy wisdom and thy science have turned thee away ;
And thou saidst in thy heart, I am, and there is none besides me.

ΠῚ

Therefore shall evil come upon thee ;

Thou shalt know no dawn after it ;

for that of a married woman, in order
to admit of the introduction of a state
of widowhood, and drexvia. To this
state Babylon was reduced when her
king was slain, and her inhabitants
were either massacred, or carried away
captive. Comp. liv. 1,4; Lam.i.1;
Isa. 11. 18—20.

9. The sudden and unexpected at-
tack of Cyrus is here specially set
forth. See on chap. xxi. 9. That the
Babylonians were greatly addicted to
magic, appears not only from this
verse and ver. 12, but also from Dan.
i, 20, ii. 2, 10, iv. 7, v.11, &. Comp.
Diod. Sic. lib. ii. 053, from 723, Arab.

᾿ ᾿ 4, . . . ΄
AERA » detexit, revelavit, manifestavit ;

CAs , detectus, revelatus; keublKe,
ecstasis ; persons who, by magical arts,
pretended to reveal the fortunes of
empires, individuals, ἕο. Thus, Ibn
Batuta, speaking of the Mohammedan
saints, who pretended to reveal the

future, calls them, peg Ws,d),
p.9. This etymology seems preferable
to that adopted by Bertholdt and
Miinter, who derive it from Wau,

scidit pannum, obscuravit, eclipsi affecit,
though there can be no doubt that they
employed eclipses for the same purpose.
Gesenius and Winer trace the word to

the Syr. pis in Ethpaal, ¢o sup-

plicate, celebrate acts of worship, &ce.,
which may well agree with the
theurgic ceremonies of the Oriental
incantators. By D737 are meant spells
or charms, by which those who were
the dupes of them were downd ; from
7, to bind, bind fast with spells.
Gesenius thinks the term denotes a
species of magic, practised by binding
magic knots; ver. 13. in 443, ὅζο,, 15
not to be rendered with or through, but
has a negative signification, such as
nevertheless, notwithstanding, in spite of,
&c. Comp. Numb. xiv.11 ; Job. i. 22.
Thus Calvin, zon obstante. None of
all the numerous sorceries of Babylon
should be able to afford her the least
assistance. Md¥Y is properly in con-
struction with 189, used substantively.
7220 indeed intervenes, but this is not
more abhorrent from the genius of
the language, than the interruption of
direct construction by prepositions,
conjunctions, &e. See Gesen. Lehrgeb.
p. 679.

10, Babylon was proud, not only of
her political wisdom, but also of her
astronomical and mythological science.
NYT, γνῶσις, in connexion, as here, with
7237, superior knowledge, i. e. that of
the gods, &c. 221% is used both in
a good and a bad sense ; here, as lvii.
17, it indicates a determined apostasy
from the true God.

11. πρὸ, in this verse corresponds
to JOP. in ver. 10. WYN, its duwn, i.e.
the commencement of a period of

368

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XLYII.

Yea, calamity shall overwhelm thee,

Which thou shalt not be able by expiation to remove ;
There shall even come upon thee suddenly,

Desolation of which thou shalt not be aware.

12

Persevere now with thy spells ;

And with the multitude of thy sorceries,
With which thou hast toiled from thy youth :
Perhaps thou mayest profit by them ;

Perhaps thou mayest resist.
13

Thou art wearied with the multitude of thy counsels :

Let the dividers of the heavens, the astrologers,
The prognosticators at the new moons,

Stand up now, and save thee

From the things that shall come upon thee.
14 Behold! they shall be as stubble ;

succeeding prosperity ; the morning,
figuratively considered, after a night
of calamity. See on chap. viii. 20.
The following member of the paral-
lelism confirms this interpretation,
which indeed might be considered as
sufficiently justified from the incon-
gruity of representing affliction as
dawning upon any one. 3, 70 cover,
atone for, remove, avert by expiation, &e.

12. The language ofirony. By “the
youth” of Babylon is meant the
earliest periods of her political exist-
ence. It is generally allowed, that
whatever admixtures of Egyptian
superstition were found in the religion
of the Babylonians, the Chaldeans
possessed an original system of philo-
sophy and learning ; on which account
they are spoken of as a distinct class,
Dan. ii. 2, 10, &e. Their astronomical
observations appear to date from a
remote antiquity. Ptolemy mentions
two lunar eclipses observed by them
about 700 years B.c. YW is here used

like the Arab. 2° , adversus occurrit ;

Conj. IIL. obstitit, restitit.

13. Pox», for POY ; most probably
to make it agree in sound with 7127
and 7ppw>, ver. 12. But comp. Ps. ix.
5; Ezek. xxxv. 11. 125, ἡ, 6. as the
Keri ordains, bm 14, the dividers of

the heavens, from the Arab. 94 , concrdit,

secuit, to cut or divide into large parts,
with obvious reference to the division
of the zodiac into twelve signs, in
connexion with which the Chaldzean
astronomers carried on the practice of
judicialastrology. LXX. οἱ ἀστρολόγοι
τοῦ οὐρανοῦ. Vulg.auguresceli. Some
MSS. and Edd. read "27 or 737; but
these readings have probably origi-
nated in some copyist recollecting that
D217 occurred in the preceding verses.
D722 OWT, who see, 1. 6. predict future
events, destinies, ὅσο, dy means of the
stars. iT is a seer, or prophet; ap-
plied here to the Chaldzan astrologers,
who divined by the rising and setting,
the motions, aspects, colour, degree of
light, &c., of the stars. They main-
tained that the stars had an influence
over the nativities of men. The ?in
own denotes time, as 7722, 2709, &e.
It would appear that the astronomers
at Babylon published a monthly table
of the leadmg events that might be
expected to happen. x2 connects
more naturally with yy, though re-
mote in point of position, than with
orn, The partitive use of }2 does
not well apply here.

14, 15. The utter destruction of
the astronomical and magical societies
of Babylon is here predicted. The
persons composing them, so far from
contributing by their science or arts
to rescue those who had been accus-

CHAP. XLVIII.|

The fire shall burn them up ;

ISAIAH.

369

They shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame ;
It shall not be a coal to warm one ;

Nor a fire before which to sit.

15 Thus shall they be to thee, for whom thou hast toiled,
Those with whom thou hast dealt from thy youth ;
They shall wander, each to his quarter :

None shall save thee.

tomed to consult them, should not be
able to deliver themselves, but should
either perish in the catastrophe, or
betake themselves to flight. The
images are very expressive. The fire
was not to be for ordinary purposes,
but an all-devouring flame. It has
been queried, whether by ΤῸ in this
place, we are to understand merchants

in the literal acceptation of the term ;
or the astrologers, &c., who traversed
the country, practising their super-
stitious arts for gain. The latter
seems the more probable. ‘29,
straight before him. Comp. V22 722°Rx,
Ezek. 1. 9, 12, of λοιπ. eis τὸ πέραν
ἑαυτοῦ.

CHAPTER ΧΊ ΤΠ.

In this chapter the Jews are reproved for their hypocrisy and formality, 1, 2 ;
their obstinate addictedness to idolatry, notwithstanding the proofs which
they had of the Divine existence, is forcibly set forth, 3—8 ; the design of
the captivity, and the instrument by which their deliverance from it was to

be effected, are pointed out, 9—15 ;

a powerful appeal to their conscience

and feelings is then made by the Messiah, 16—19 ; and an exhortation is
given to them to avail themselves of the opportunity afforded them in the
providence of God to return to Judea with security and comfort, 20, 21 ;
accompanied with a warning to such as persisted in rebellion, 22,

1 Hear this, O house of Jacob!

Ye that are called by the name of Israel ;
And have come forth from the waters of Judah !
That swear by the name of Jehovah,

1, 2. THT "99. Comp. Numb. xxiv. 7;
Ps. Ixviii. 26 (Hebr. 27) ; Rev. viii. 10.
Nations are by the Orientals compared
to rivers, of which the progenitors
are the fountains. Ὁ, which is the
reading of thirty-nine MSS. and four

early editions, is not designed, as
Lowth thinks, to express from the days,
but is merely the reduplicate form of
2; see Exod. vii. 19, viii. 2. For
wp vy, the Holy City, comp. Neh. xi.
1; Dan. ix. 24: Matt. iv. 5, xxvii. 53;

370

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XLVIII.

And make mention of the God of Israel ;

But not truly nor justly.

2 For they call themselves of the holy city,
And stay themselves upon the God of Israel :

Jehovah of Hosts is his name.

3 The former events I declared long ago ;
Yea, from my mouth they proceeded ; and I made them known ;
I effected them suddenly, and they came to pass.

4 I knew that thou art stubborn;
That thy neck is a bar of iron;

And thy brow brass.

5 Therefore I declared them to thee long ago;

Before they came to pass I made them known to thee ;

Lest thou shouldst say, My idol effected them ;

Or, My graven image, and my molten image commanded them.
6 Thou hast heard them ; view them all ;

And should ye not declare it ?

Henceforth I publish to thee new events,

Even hidden things, which thou hast not known.
7 They are produced now, and not long ago ;

At no former period didst thou hear of them ;

Lest thou shouldest say, Behold! I knew them.
8 Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not ;

the inscription on the Maccabean coins,
mop ow, Jerusalem the Holy; and

the Arab. (wid ew, dist, by
which name she is still commonly
known all over the East.

* 3. ΤΆ 15 generally thought that there
is here a reference to the predictions
respecting Sennacherib, to the events
connected with whose discomfiture
DxNB aptly applies.

4, nym, it is of my knowledge,
i.e. part of it; I know with certainty.
πῶ stands for 30 77, Ezek. iii. 7.
Comp. as to sense, Exod. xxxii. 9;
Ezek. ii. 4. Obstinate, audacious, and
unblushing rebellion characterised the
Jews as a people.

5. The 1 at the beginning of this
verse is inferential, marking what had
been done in consequence of the Divine
knowledge of the character of the

Jews. That the Feminine in 8127 is
to be taken as a Collective Neuter, is
evident from the use of the plural
affix Ὁ, immediately following.

7. Sis here used in the sense of
the miraculous production, not of events,
but of the prophecies respecting them.
The announcement of them was a
creation of knowledge, as real as that
of the universe was of matter, Gen.
1.1. DVv725) means before the day of
their announcement, LXX. προτέραις
ἡμέραις. The things themselves had
no existence in the time of the prophet.
The Chaldzans were not in possession
of Babylon; and the Persians were a
weak and inconsiderable power. They
could not, by any possibility, have
been anticipated by human sagacity.

8. This verse describes the disin-
clination of the Jews to attend to the
Divine communications, rather than

CHAP. XLVIII.]

ISATAH.

511

Yea, thine ear was not opened to them long ago :
For I knew that thou wast altogether faithless,
And wast called rebellious from the belly.
9 For my name’s sake 1 have deferred my anger,
And for the sake of my praise I have restrained it from thee ;

That I might not cut thee off.
Behold! I have refined thee, but not as silver ;

10

I have tried thee in the furnace of affliction.

11

For my own sake, for my own sake, have I done it ;

For how should my name be profaned ?
My glory I will not give to another.

12

Hearken to me, O Jacob! and Israel, my called !

Iam He: I am the First; I also am the Last.

13

It was, indeed, my hand that founded the earth,

And my right hand that expanded the heavens ;
I called them; they stood forth at once.
14 Assemble, all of you, and hear:

their not having received them. mn»
TR, to open the ear, means to disclose
any thing to any one. The verb is
here used intransitively, to denote
being opened, receiving the revelation.
nap, Pual of xp, fo call ; here idioma-
tically, to de. Seeonchap.i.26. The
period here specified was that of the
deliverance from Egypt, “ ea liberatio
fuit veluti queedam Kcclesize nativitas.”
Calvin. From the very first the He-
brew nation had been rebellious ; wit-
ness their history in the wilderness.
9—11. A beautiful exhibition of the
goodness, longsuffering, and forbear-
ance of Jehovah. Dum is here used
with great effect. It properly signifies
to muzzle; hence to subdue, restrain,

&c.; Arab. eas, percussit im naso ;

instruzit capistro camelum, &c. ; elas,

capistrum. After the verb, ΝΞ is un-
derstood ; as "2 is after ‘2. This
ellipsis may seem harsh ; but it is not
more so than many others which we
meet with. It has been supplied by
the LXX.,7r0 ἐμὸν ὄνομα, and in one of
Kennicott’'s MSS. It would have
derogated from the character of Je-
hovah, in the eyes of the heathen, had
he abandoned his people to utter

destruction, and have been a tacit
renunciation of those claims by which
he is distinguished from all created
objects. 023, the LXX., Michaelis,
and others, render “ ox account of, for
silver ;” not adverting to the circum-
stance that 1 is often used in the
acceptation of 3, like, in the manner of.
See Zwinglius. Vulg. “quasi argen-
tum.” Instead of 7m7a, two MSS.
and the Syr. read 77303, which is
doubtless a gloss, but conveys the pri-
mary signification of 173. See Gesen,

Lex. iz voc.; and comp. the Syr.

pue> > exploravit, examinavit.

12. Comp. xli. 4, xliv. 6.

13. 70 seems to be a denominative,
from mp0, the palm of the hand.
Comp. ΠΕ, a palm, or hand-breadth ;
omen, Lam. 11. 20, a bearing on the
palms of the hands; hence to use
the hand for smoothing, extending,
stretching forth. Comp. the Arab.

po , latum fecit, in latum duvit, ex-

panditve ; ΣΝ » Calum; as Yi), ex-
ΓΟ

panse, from YP, to expand.

14, Instead of 073, among them,
twenty-seven MSS., originally nine
more, now four ; the Soncin. and Brix.

812

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. XLVIII.

Which of them hath shewed these things ?
Jehovah loved him; he will execute his purpose against

Babylon,

And be his arm against the Chaldeeans.

15

I, I have spoken it; I also have called him ;

I have brought him ; and his way shall be prosperous.

16 Draw near to me; hear this:

I spake not in secret from the beginning ;
From the time that it was, I was there :
And now the Lord Jehovah hath sent me and his Spirit.

editions, and the Syr.,read 023, among _

you. The reading of the Textus Re-
ceptus is the more appropriate ; and
the variation was doubtless occasioned
by the suffix in 029) immediately
before. The reference, in which Zwin-
glius finds the language of contempt,
is to the idols. The Nomin. to 1278 is
Cyrus, understood. The love here
spoken of is not pure affection or
delight, but favour ; which may be
shewn in various ways. The love or
favour of God was shewn to Cyrus in
his selecting him to be the distin-
guished instrument of liberating the
Jews, and giving him victory over the
nations. “ Dilectio autem non sim-
pliciter, sed πρὸς τὶ accipitur: ideoque
ad felicem expeditionis eventum re-
stringitur.’ Calvin. Comp. Rom. ix.
lf. Before D2, the prepos. 3 is to
be supplied from the preceding hemi-
stich.

15. This verse is expletive of the
preceding, and presents Jehovah in
the boldest contrast with the gods of
the Chaldeans.

16. Several commentators have at-
tempted to vindicate the whole of this
verse to Isaiah; but they have met
with few abettors. Even Gesenius is
forced to admit that, comparing the
second member with chap. xlv. 19,
Jehovah must be the speaker; and
that the third cannot well be explained
as the words of the prophet. He is,
however, of opinion that the fourth
member contains the language of the
prophet. Thus also Zwinglius, Mus-
culus, Calvin, Clarius, ν. ἃ. Palm, and
others. On the other hand, Athana-
sius, Augustine, Basil, Chrysostom,

Procopius, Jerome, (colampadius,
Castalio, Calovius, Schmidius, &c., in-
terpret the words of the Logos, which
certainly does not appear so harsh as
to admit a change of person in the
speaker. Indeed, the close connexion
of 28 OW AMT ny and *yIw—NAY ren-
ders such change next to impossible.
The suffix in anv has ts, the begin-
ning, for its antecedent; which, though
masculine in form, is feminine in sig-
nification. When tx and ἀρχὴ are
put absolutely in Scripture, the com-
mencement of created existence is
meant. OW is here properly a tem-
poral adverb. Comp. Prov. viii. 27,
where it likewise follows Us, in appli- .
cation to the commencement of time.
Comp. for the doctrine,* 0 ἣν am’ ἀρχῆς,
and Tov ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς, 1 Johni. 1, 1. 13,
14. It has been disputed whether
im, His Spirit, be the nominative or
the accusative. The latter is, from
the position of the word, the more
natural ; and consequently the more
probable. Thus Origen, though he
admits that ἀμφίβολος ἔστιν ἡ λέξις,
explains, ἀμφότερα ἀπέστειλεν 0 πατὴρ,
τὸν σωτήρα καὶ τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα ; “the
Father sent doth, the Saviour and the
Holy Spirit ;” and he introduces the
passage by stating that δεδήλωται, τέ is
manifest from it, that the Holy Spirit,
as well as Christ, was sent for the sal-
vation of men. The meaning there-
fore will be, that the Logos, in his
mediating character as the Angel of
Jehovah, received a special commission
to interpose for the deliverance of his
captive people; and the Holy Spirit
was likewise sent to reveal, through
the prophet, the joyful event. Such

CHAP. XLVIII. |

ISAIAH. 378

17 Thus saith Jehovah thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel :
I Jehovah, thy God, teach thee to profit ;
I lead thee in the way thou shouldst go.

18

O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments!

Then should thy peace have been like a river ;
And thy righteousness as the billows of the sea.

19

Thy seed also should have been as the sand thereof;

And the offspring of thy bowels as that of its bowels ;
Tt should not have been cut off; ἢ
Neither should its name have been destroyed from my presence.

20

Depart ye out of Babylon; flee from the Chaldeans ;

With the voice of joy shew this ; make it known ;
Carry it forth to the end of the earth ;
Say ye, Jehovah hath redeemed his servant Jacob.

21

For they thirsted not in the deserts through which he led them ;

He caused water to flow out of the rock for them ;
Yea, he clave the rock, and the water gushed out.

22

construction is quite in accordance
with the mode of representation else-
where employed in Scripture respect-
ing the economy of the Divine opera-
tions.

17—19. If the Jews had attended
to the Divine instructions with which
they had been favoured, uninterrupted
and abundant prosperity would have
been their lot, instead of the calami-
tous circumstances into which they
had been plunged by their transgres-
sions. 77 signifying here, as generally,
the sand on the sea-shore, I have sup-
plied a pronoun referring to 0%, in
the preceding verse. ΓΙῸ is the
same as DPD, dowels, only it is femi-
nine, because used in a figurative
sense. Before it, ἜΞΩ is understood

There is no peace, saith Jehovah, to the wicked.

as repeated, to signify the fishes which
the sea produces.

21. These words are not descriptive
of what took place on the journey of
the ancient Israelites through the
wilderness, but describe in figurative
language, borrowed from events which
then took place, the copious supplies
which the Jews should enjoy on their
journey from Babylon to Judea. See
Exod. xvii. 6.; Numb. xx. 11; Ps.
Ixxviil. 15.

22. A denunciation against such as
should persist in rebellion and un-
belief—preferring the pleasures of sin
with the enemies of God, to the holy
and spiritual enjoyments of his ser-
vice. Comp. chap. lvii. 21.

14

ISATAH.

[CHAP. XLIX.

CHAPTER XLIX.

This chapter consists of two parts : the /irst relating to the Messiah, in which
he calls the attention of the world to his appointment to be the Redeemer,
not of the Jews only, 1—4, but also of the Gentiles, 5—13: the second re-
presenting the desolate condition of Judea during the captivity, 14; the
Divine compassion towards her, 15, 16 ; the certainty of the restoration of
the Jews, and the immense number of the citizens, 17—21 ; the support
rendered to them by foreign princes, 22, 23; the interposition of Jehovah
for their rescue, and the destruction of their enemies, 24—26.

1 HARKEN to me, ye maritime lands!

And attend, ye distant people!

_ Jehovah hath called me from the womb ;

From my mother’s bowels he hath mentioned my name.
2 He hath also made my mouth like a sharp sword ;

Tn the shadow of his hand hath he concealed me ;

Yea, he hath made me a polished arrow,

He hath hid me in his quiver ;

3 And hath said to me, Thou art my servant ;

1. That Messiah is the speaker, is
agreed among the great body of inter-
preters. Attempts have, indeed, been
made by the Rabbins, by Grotius,
Koppe, and others, to explain the pas-
sage of Isaiah himself; by Doéderlein,
Paulus, Rosenmiiller, and Hitzig, of
the Jewish nation ; by Gesenius, of
his favourite prophetie order ; and by
some of Cyrus. But their several
hypotheses are clogged with difficul-
ties, which they have themselves felt,
or on the ground of which they have
opposed and refuted each other. See
on chap. xlii. 1, and Hengstenberg’s
Christologie, i. Theil. 2 Abtheil. p.
259, &c. The Messiah had been in-
troduced, chap. xlvii. 16, declaring
his commission to interpose for the
deliverance of the Jews in Babylon:
here he is presented in the higher
character of a Spiritual Deliverer both
of Jews and Gentiles. Though it is
literally true that he received the
name of Jesus while yet in the womb

of the virgin, Luke ii. 21, yet the
stress of the words seems to bear on
his appointment to office by the
Father, in opposition to its being self-
assumed, Comp. Jer. 1. 5 ; Gal. i. 15.

2. 7b, the mouth, is here, as freq.,
used for that which proceeds from it,
speech, doctrine, ὅθ. The metaphors
of a sword and an arrow, in the best
state of preparation, aptly set forth
the penetrating and subduing efficacy
of the Gospel. Comp. Eccles. xii. 11 ;
Heb. iv. 12; Rev. i. 16. Pindar, in
like manner, employs the metaphor of
the arrow, in application to powerful
eloquence, Olymp. 11. 149, 160, ix. 17 ;
and Gesenius quotes passages from
the Life of Timur, tom. ii. p. 888,
and p. 334, to the same effect. The
concealment referred to is that of the
Divine Redeemer previous to his
manifestation in the flesh.

3. Comp. xliv. 23. The occurrence
of the term xt, /srae/, in this verse
has occasioned considerable difficulty.

CHAP. XLI1X.]

ISAIAH.

ald

That in thee, O Israel! I may be glorified.
4 But I said: I have toiled in vain;
For nought and in vain have I exhausted my strength:
Nevertheless, my cause is with Jehovah ;
And my reward is with my God.

5 And now saith Jehovah,

That formed me from the womb to be his servant,

To restore Jacob to him:

Though Israel should not be gathered to him,
Yet I shall be glorious in the sight of Jehovah,
And my God shall be my praise.
6 He also saith: It is too small a thing for thee to be my servant,
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved of Israel ;
I have also appointed thee to be a light to the nations,
To be my salvation to the end of the earth.

Michaelis and Gesenius hold it to be
very suspicious ; and think it may
have been introduced at an early
period by some copyist, just as ᾿Ισραὴλ
and Ἰακὼβ were by the LXX., in the
parallel passage, chap. xlii. 1. It is
actually wanting in Kennicott’s Cod.
96. Saadias renders, My servant,

Jy! pal dl ΤῸ Israel; making the

Jewish people the objects of a special
mission. Thus also Grotius and Dathe.
Others are of opinion that there is
an abrupt transition from the Servant
of Jehovah, to those on whom his
ministry was first of all destined to
tell. And, indeed, by rendering Wx,
that, in order that, this sense is most
naturally brought out. Comp. for
such use of 1x, as a relative conjunc-
tion preceding the Fut., Gen. xi. 7;
Numb. xxiii. 13; Deut. iv. 40, &c.

4. The Messiah here complains of
the fruitlessness of his labours among
the Jews, but expresses his confidence
in the righteous appointment of his
Heavenly Father.

5, 6. Such appointment is here defi-
nitely announced. Though he should
not be successful in ettecting the con-
version of the Jews, yet Jehovah
would glorify him, by making him the
instrument of salvation to the world

at large. Instead of )Dx. 8%, shall NOT
be gathered, the Keri reads "Ps. , shall
be gathered to Him: expressing, in a
synonymous parallelism, the idea con-
veyed by the preceding V8 3p¥” 2270),
This alteration has the countenance
of six MSS., three more originally, and
now one; the LXX., Chald., and Aq.
But the textual reading, which is sup-
ported by the great mass of MSS.,
and has the suffrages of Symm.,
Theod., and the Vulg., agrees better
with the following: since the Vaus in
Ste) and 7228), correspond to each
other, as though and yet. The Athnach
should properly be at V2. 1¥, from my,
to be strong, signifies glory, majesty,
praise, when coupled with 133, or, as
here, with 723, in Niphal. For ‘Ys3,
the Keri has the participial form ‘32.
The meaning is, such of the Jews as
had been restored to their own land ;
and the term corresponds to "22%, pre-
ceding. The language clearly and ab-
solutely excludes the idea, that by the
“ Servant of Jehovah,” either the pro-
phet or the people of Israel is in-
tended. To maintain that Isaiah was
to be the great teacher of the heathen
(a2 ἦν), would be to maintain what
is contrary to fact ; and no absurdity
can be greater, than to suppose, that,
though the Jews could not effect their

316

7 Thus saith Jehovah,

ISAIAH.

(CHAP. XLIX.

The Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One,
To him whom men despise, whom the nation abhorreth,

To the servant of rulers:

Kings shall behold, and stand up;

Princes also, and shall worship ;

For the sake of Jehovah, that is faithful,

The Holy One of Israel, that hath chosen thee.

8 Thus saith Jehovah:
thee ;

In an acceptable time I have answered

And in the day of salvation I have helped thee ;

And have preserved thee, and made thee a covenant for the

people ;

To raise up the earth, to cause the desolate possessions to be

occupied :

9 To say to the prisoners, Go forth!
To them that are in darkness, Appear!

They shall feed by the ways ;

And on all the high places shall be their pasture.

LO

They shall not hunger, neither shall they thirst ;

Neither shall the glowing heat, nor the sun smite them ;
For He that hath mercy on them shall lead them,

own recovery, they should, neverthe-
less, be the active and _ successful
agents in effecting the restoration of
the world. Comp. for the doctrine of
the text, chap. xlii. 6; Mal. i. 10, 11;
Luke 11. 30—32 ; ‘Acts xill. 46, 47;
Rom. xi. 11, 12. For ny, MY saloa-
tion, two Konigsb. MSS., the LXX.,
Arab., and Acts xiii. 47, read my,
salvation. Both forms occur elsewhere
in the prophet.

7—10. These verses describe the
humiliation, and subsequent exalta-
tion and administration of the Re-
deemer. 5272 agrees so entirely
with 12 299, that the rendering of the
LXX., rov ἢ ἀν μοὺπα τὴν sre αὐτοῦ,
“ who despiseth his life,” of which
Michaelis approves, cannot be ad-
mitted. 5] is here used collectively
of men. Comp. Deut. xxiv. 7. ™3 is
the Infin. taken as the Pahul Part.
a, Ps. xxii. 7; and corresponds to
23, chap. 111]. 3:—both passages being

strictly parallel. 229 is a verbal noun,
derived from Piel, and signifies ax
object of abomination. or disgust. Ge-
senius, however, in his Lexicon, retains
the proper participial form, and ren-
ders, “ causing abhorrence to the
people,” z.e. who is an abhorrence to
them. By 3, zation, is meant the
Jewish, by which our Saviour was
despised and rejected. Having ren-
dered perfect obedience to the con-
stituted authorities, the Redeemer
might with all propriety be called
“a servant of rulers,’ though the
phrase may also have been designed
to express his humiliation, as exhi-
bited in his subjection to them.
After 17m, supply ink, “shall wor-
ship Him;” which the connexion
obviously requires. The “ acceptable
time,” and the “day of salvation,”

mean the period of the New Dispen-
sation, at the commencement of
which the Messiah appeared, to effect

-»-

CHAP. XLIX. |

ISAIAH.

307

And conduct them to fountains of water.
11 I will also make all my mountains a way ;
And my causeways shall be raised.

12

Behold! these shall come from far :

And behold! these from the North, and from the West ;
And these from the land of Sinim.

13

Sing, O heavens! and rejoice, O earth !

Burst, ye mountains, into song!
For Jehovah comforteth his people,
And hath compassion on his afflicted.

14

But Zion saith, Jehovah hath forsaken me,

And, The Lord hath forgotten me.

15

the work of human redemption, and
during which the blessings of that
redemption are being communicated
to mankind. Comp. 2 Cor. vi. 2.
How he prayed, was heard, and
helped, see Heb. v. 7; Matt. xxvi.
39—44; Luke xxu. 41—44. The
ninth verse clearly shews, that by
the desolate possessions are not
meant waste places in Judea, but the
moral wastes in the Gentile world.
Comp. chap. xli. 6, 7. Twenty-two
of Kennicott and De Rossi’s MSS,
aud six more originally, read 7x),
instead of 70x. It is also the reading
of several ancient editions, and has
the support of the LXX., Arab., Syr.,
Vulg., and Targ. The rich provision
made for the supply of the Gentile
converts is beautifully described in
metaphors borrowed from nomadic
life.

11. Every obstacle shall be re-
moved, and every facility granted for
conversion.

12. The entrance of converts from
the most distant quarters into the
church is here specifically predicted.
myD, Sinim, has been variously inter-
preted. Aq., Symm., and Theod.,
retain the word σινείμ: the LXX. ἐκ
γῆς Περσῶν. Michaelis, Déderlein,
and others, Syeze, the southern bound-
ary of Egypt; and Bochart, Pelusium,
But there can no longer be any doubt

that China is meant. ων» Sin, and

Can a woman forget her suckling,

wi Chin, are the names given to
China by the Arabs. The Turks also
have ues wp Chin-oo-Machin.

Comp. arte ork: And the

Syrians, joa. It has been affirmed

that the term is not in use among the
Chinese themselves, except as the
designation of a dynasty, which took
its rise B.c. 246; but, according to
Professor Neumann, 7571. was the
name of a great tributary kingdom to
the west of China, the first monarch
of which began to reign B.c. 897.
Nothing was more natural than for
the western Asiatics, whose caravans
brought them into contact with this
kingdom, to extend the designation to
the whole empire.

13. A joyful anticipation of the
happy state of things under the
Messiah, as set forth in the pre-
ceding verses.

14, The prophet now naturally
reverts to the desolate condition of
Jerusalem during the captivity. To
interpret Zion, as meaning the Chris-
tian church, would do violence to the
remaining portion of the chapter.
No language could more pathetically
and tenderly describe the feelings of
the Jewish church, or the love of God
towards her, than that here employed.

378

ISATAH.

[CHAP, XLIX:

So as to have no affection for the son of her womb ?

Even these may forget,
But I will not forget thee.

16 Behold! I have portrayed thee upon my hands ;
Thy walls are continually before me.

17 Thy sons make haste ;

They that destroyed thee, and laid thee waste, depart from thee.

18

Lift up thine eyes around, and look ;

They all assemble, they come to thee.

As I live, saith Jehovah,

Thou shalt surely put them all on as ornaments,
And bind them about as doth a bride.

19
destroyed,

For thy wastes,and thy desolate places, and thy land that is

Shall now be too confined for the inhabitants ;
And they that destroyed thee shall be far away.
20 Thy sons, of whom thou wast bereaved,

16. pea properly signifies fo cut or
grave letters in some solid substance ;
but here to delineate, portray. UXX.
ἐζωγράφηκα. There seems to be an
allusion to the custom of marking or
representing certain objects on the
hand, with a view to their being kept
constantly in remembrance. Maun-
drell describes such a practice as
common with the pilgrims who visit
Jerusalem. There are artists who
undertake the operation. They em-
ploy wooden stamps, with which they
print off upon the arm, with powder
of charcoal, the desired figure or
representation. They then take two
very fine needles tied close together,
which they dip like a pen in an ink
compounded of gunpowder and ox-
gall, and make with them small pune-
tures all along the lines of the figure
which they have printed ; and washing
the part in wine, conclude the opera-
tion. See Journey from Aleppo to
Jerusalem, p. 75. And comp., for a
similar custom, chap. xliy. 5.

17. 133, thy children, is read 723, thy
builders, by the LXX., Chald., Vulg.,
Saad., and is approved by Michaelis,
Lowth, and many of the moderns, on
the ground of the antithesis which it
forms to the following participles,

ΗΝ but the Masoretic
reading is more agreeable to the
whole context, especially vers. 18, 21,
22. It is accordingly adopted by
Gesenius, Hitzig, Maurer, Scholz, and
Jenour. Nz) 732, Lowth strangely ren-
ders, shall become thine offspring. No
interpretation could be more forced.

18. The nomin. to 033 is 33, in the
preceding verse. The inhabitants of
a city are its beauty ; and, cities being
regarded by the Hebrews as females,
the metaphor of a bride is the more
appropriate.

19, 20. The second °2 is intensive,
but cannot well be expressed in
English. This prophecy was literally
fulfilled in the immense population of
Judza, between the return from the
captivity and the time of our Lord.
Josephus, describing Galilee, says:
προσησκήθη γοῦν ὑπὸ τῶν οἰκητόρων
πᾶσα, καὶ μέρος αὐτῆς οὐδὲν ἀργόν.
ἀλλὰ καὶ πόλεις πυκναὶ, καὶ τὸ τῶν
κωμῶν πλῆθος πανταχοῦ πολυάνθρωπον
διὰ τὴν εὐθηνίαν, ὡς τὴν ἐλαχίστην ὑπὲρ
πεντακισχιλίους πρὸς τοῖς μυρίοις ἔχειν
οἰκήτορας. De Bello Jud. lib. iii. cap.
8. P2BwW 2a, lit. flit orbitatis tua, but
meaning, the inhabitants of which
thou wast bereaved. 773 may either
be rendered approach me; or, recede

TPN POW ;

CHAP. XLIX.|

ISATAH. 379

Shall again say in thine ears :
The place is too confined for me ;
Make room for me that I may dwell.

21 And thou shalt say in thine heart :

Who hath born these for me ?
For I was childless and solitary ; an exile and an outcast :

Who, then, hath brought up these ?

Behold! I was left alone:
These—where were they ?
27;

Thus saith the Lord Jehovah:

Behold, I will raise my hand to the nations,

And elevate my standard to the people ;

And they shall bring thy sons in their bosom,

And thy“daughters shall be borne on their shoulders.

23

Kings also shall be thy supporters,

And their princesses thy nurses ;

With their faces on the ground they shall do thee homage,
And shall lick the dust of thy feet ;

And thou shalt know that I am Jehovah ;

For they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.

Jrom me, according to circumstances.
In such a case as the present, the
latter is obviously the proper render-
ing. LXX. ποίησον μοὶ τόπον: Vulg.
Jue mihi spatium. For similar contrary
acceptations of words signifying ap-
proach and departure, see Gesenius zz
loc. and his Lex. iw voc. 023, and comp.
Gen. xix. 9.

21. 7712 being the form exclusively
employed when the mother is spoken
of, the verb must be rendered by orn,
not by deget. Instead of 7x, fifty-six
of Kennicott and De Rossi’s MSS.,
twenty-five more originally, now five,
with the LXX., Vulg., and the Targ.,
De Rossi, 737, read 7x),

22, 23. These verses describe the
readiness, zeal, and liberality, with
which, in the providence of God, the
nations and their rulers should pro-
mote the restoration of the Jews to

their own land. By qn, Arab. we

Eth. εν ὦ ὦ : is meant the dosom of a
garment, or, that part of it which

opens about the bosom. The meta-
phor is taken from the practice, still
common in the East, of carrying
young children in such aperture.
That of carrying on the shoulders is
also very common. Among the South
Sea islanders, it is a mark of honour
for females to be borne astride on
men’s shoulders. The queen of Ta-
heite is thus exhibited on the Plate,
representing the cession of a portion
of land to the London Missionary
Society. The prophet represents the
royal personages as rendering the
most profound homage to the Jews:
the acts here specified being those
usually performed to superiors in the
East. Ibn Batutu relates, that when
the daughter of the Sultan of Con-
stantinople, one of the wives of the
Sultan of Uzbek Tartary, returned on
a visit to her parents, and met them,
she alighted, and kissed the ground
before them, as well as the hoofs of
their horses. Travels, p. 82. The
prediction was fulfilled in the reigns
of Cyrus, Darius. Hystaspes, Arta-

980

ISATAH.

(CHAP: XL1x.

24 Shall the booty be taken from the mighty ?
Or the captive of the strong be rescued ?

25 Verily thus saith Jehovah :

The captive of the mighty shall be taken,
And the booty of the terrible shall be rescued :
For with him that contendeth with thee will I contend ;

And I will save thy children.
26

Yea, I will feed thine oppressors with their own flesh,

And they shall be drunk with their own blood, as with new

wine ;

And all flesh shall know that I, Jehovah, am thy Saviour,
And thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

xerxes, Demetrius Nicator, Alexander
the Great, the Ptolemies, Esther, &c.
The address concludes with the assur-
ance that the sons of Zion should
experience the Divine faithfulness in
the fulfilment of the promises which
God had given them.

24—26. So completely were the
Jews in subjection to the tyrannical
power of Babylon, that there was no
rational prospect of deliverance. This
is strongly put in the interrogative
form, ver. 24; and, according to an
idiom of the language, a negative reply
is expected; but the two following
verses contain a pointed answer in the
affirmative, directing the attention of
the Jews to the almighty power of
God, as that by which their rescue
should assuredly be effected. pe "Ὁ
some of the ancient, and many modern
versions, render, the righteous or lawful
captive. As ?72, however, corresponds
to yrv, in the following verse, some
have supposed that the original
reading must have been yw "τῶ, she
captive of the terrible, and translate
accordingly. Lowth calls the present
reading a palpable mistake, and other-
wise expresses himself very confidently
on the point. It is, however, of great
antiquity ; LXX. ἀδίκως, giving to the
term a contrary signification ; Aq.
and Theod. δίκαιον ; Symm. δικαίου,
Zwinglius observes, “ Hic autem
Justus pro Robusto accipitur, quo-
modo Germanis, Redlich : quee vox et
justem et fortem significat.” Such is
actually the rendering of the Syriac,

a 9 ΩΣ
fromcss hme, the captive of the

strong, from eas , prevaluit, confortatus
est; Ethpa. fortiter egit. And this”
idea also attaches to the Arab. (340.

Thus Freytag, “Tum quoque verbo
significationem tribuerunt fortiler pug-
nandi,” conf. Hamak. Waked. p. 145,
vers. (Hoe ex dicendi modo ortum videtur

οι εὐ Ido .) Hence (3h0, sin-
i , “
ceritas, robur ; ὥς “9 ck,

strenuus, gut impetu in hostem faciendo
veraz est. Kam. Alb. Schultens, turba
captiva bellatoris ; Moller, den Sterke ;
Tingstadius, en valdig segrare ; Paulus,
braver Soldat. I have not, therefore,
scrupled to render “the strong.” In
his second edition, Gesenius interprets,
“captives of the righteous,” ἡ. 6. con-
sisting of such ; but this is unsuitable
to the connexion.

26. O'DY, wine. fresh from the grape,
of which the Orientals are exceedingly
fond. A description of intestine
bloodshed. Before the capture of
Babylon by Cyrus, Evil-merodach had
been murdered by Neriglissor ; Labo-
rosoarchodus, the son and successor of
the latter, was likewise put to death ;
and, according to Xenophon, it was
two generals of the king of Babylon,
Gobrias and Gadarus, who had gone
over to Cyrus, that forced their way
into the palace, and slew the king.
Cyropeed. iv. vii.

CHAP. L. |

ISAIAH.

9581

CHAPTER L.

The beginning of this chapter intimately coheres with the preceding.

The

captivity was not strictly the act of Jehovah, but the result of the wicked-
ness of the Jews, 1 ; nevertheless by asserting his Omnipotence, the Servant
of Jehovah conveys an assurance of deliverance, 2, 3; vindicates to himself
the possession of those qualifications which fitted him to act as the great
Prophet of the church, 4, 5 ; adverts to his voluntary sufferings, 6; avows
his confidence in God for victory over his enemies, 7—9; calls upon the
pious to exercise faith and trust, 10 ; and denounces vengeance against such

as trusted in their own devices, 11.

1 Tuus saith Jehovah:

Where is the bill of your mother’s divorce,

With which I dismissed her ?

Or, to which of my creditors have I sold you ?

Behold! for your iniquities are ye sold ;

And for your transgressions is your mother dismissed.
2 Why, when I came, was there no man?

When I called, was there none that answered ?

Is my hand at all too short to redeem ?

Or, have I no power to deliver ?

Behold! by my rebuke I dry up the sea,

And make the rivers a desert ;

Their fish stinketh for want of water,

And dieth for thirst.

1. Two metaphors are here em-
ployed: the one borrowed from a
state of matrimony ; the other, from
mercantile life. The Jewish church
is frequently represented as standing
in the relation of wife to Jehovah. To
prove that her sufferings did not
proceed from any arbitrary or self-in-
terested motive in him, he demands
the production of the bill of divorce,—
intimating that it would be found to
contain nothing to impeach his con-
duct. And, if it were alleged that he
had disposed of her for the sake of
advantage, let inquiry be made from

the person who had purchased her. No
such allegation could in truth be made.
The inference is, that if she return to
obedience she shall be graciously
received.

2, 3. The speaker in this and the
following verses is the Messiah, who
complains of the inattention and un-
belief of the Jewish people, and proves
his ability to save by appealing to the
mighty operations of his providence.
The subject implied is the deliverance
from Babylon, which was to be pre-
paratory to his coming in the flesh, »
and suffering, as described in the

3 B

382

ISATAH.

[CHAP. L.

3 I clothe the heavens with blackness,
And make sackcloth their covering.

4
taught ;

The Lord Jehovah hath given me the tongue of those who are

That I may know how to succour the weary with a word ;
He wakeneth me every morning ; he wakeneth my ear,
That I may listen like those who are taught.

And I am not rebellious :
I turn not back.
I give my back to the smiters,

The Lord Jehovah openeth my ear,

And my cheeks to them that pluck the beard ;
My face I hide not from reproach and. spitting.

But the Lord Jehovah helpeth me ;

Therefore I shall not be confounded ;
Therefore I set my face as a flint ;
For I know that 1 shall not be put to shame.

He is near that justifieth me:

Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together.
Who is my adversary ? Let him approach me.
9 Behold! the Lord Jehovah helpeth me:

following verses. Δα] yeh to be short

of hand, is a coramon phrase in Arabic
to denote powerlessness. On the
other hand, Artaxerxes Longimanus
was so called to describe his power.
4, Comp. xlix. 2; John viii. 28. The
Messiah was fully qualified to impart
Divine instruction and consolation.
This he refers to his Heavenly Father,
as John vii. 16, xvii. 8. Some take
ona in two different acceptations in
this verse ; in the first instance as
signifying expert; in the latter, dis-
ciples. It seems preferable to retain
the same interpretation of the word
in both cases. Comp. chap. viii. 16,
liv. 13. mw, the LXX. take in the
sense of timing a thing, speaking at
the proper season, τοῦ γνῶναι ἡνίκα
(Alex. MS. ἐν καιρῷ ἡνίκα) δεῖ εἰπεῖν
λόγον. It scems rather to signify the
imparting of mental succour, comfort, and

the like. Comp. the Arab. oye
ole , opem tulit, succurrit ;

ΝΞ

lel, the day of help ; Aq. ὑποστη-
ρίσαι ; Vulg. sustentare. Comp. chap.
lxi. 1—3; Matt. xi. 28.

5. Comp. Ps. xl. 6; Heb. x. 5. The
ideas of a Divine commission and
voluntary obedience are here taught.
How different the conduct of the
Messiah from that of Jonah! Comp.
Jer. xvii. 16.

6. Plucking the beard was, as it
still is, regarded in the East as the
greatest act of indignity, and is here
selected for the purpose of shewing to
what contempt and insult the Messiah
should be exposed. Comp. 2 Sam. x.
4,5; Isa. vii.20. Spitting in the face
was likewise considered in the highest
degree contemptuous. See Deut. xxv.
9; Numb. xii.14. For the fulfilment,
see the history of our Lord’s trial.
Comp. Micah ν. 1.

7—9. The language of assured
confidence respecting the issue of his
sufferings. Comp. Rom. i. 4; 1 Tim.
iii. 16.

CHAP. 11.]

10

11

ISAIAH.

Who is he that condemneth me ?

Behold! they shall all decay like a garment ;
The moth shall consume them.

Who is there among you that feareth Jehovah ;
That obeyeth the voice of his Servant,

That walketh in darkness, and hath no light ?
Let him trust in the name of Jehovah,

And stay himself upon his God.

Behold! all ye that kindle a fire,

That surround yourselves with torches ;

Walk in the light of your fire,

383

And of the torches which ye have kindled :
This shall ye have at my hand,

Ye shall lie down in sorrow.

10. The 7m Ἣν is the same Servant
who is set forth chap. xlii. 1, 19, xlix.
5, liii. 11; and the persons described
are those who should embrace his
doctrines and submit to his authority.
Comp. Gen. xlix. 10; Rom. xvi. 26.
Whatever might be the afflictions and
persecutions to which they should be
subject on account of their fidelity to
his cause, they might confidently
reckon on Divine protection and sup-
port. To this they are excited by the
prophet.

11. Pursuing the metaphor which
had just been employed, this verse
describes the proud and self-righteous
confidence of the Jews who rejected
the Messiah, and the punishment in-
flicted upon them by the Romans.
They imagined that by means of their
own devising, they could obtain com-

fort and happiness ; but they became,
on the contrary, the subjects of a long
dark night of vexation and trouble.
mpr uN, lit. girding on torches, from
x, Zo gird, gird oneself; but here, more
generally, ¢o swrround. The term ex-
presses the number of expedients to
which the Jews should resort in order
to obtain relief. nip Gesenius renders
arrows; but this does not suit the
connexion,—the object of the persons
described not being to attack their
enemies, but to procure /ight for them-
selves. The noun seems to be derived
from P23 in the acceptation of binding ;

hence the Syr. 122) ,acord; such a
cord prepared and used as ὦ torch ;

Syr. [DaDroaa , flame; LXX φλόγα.

CHAPTER LI.

The Jews in Babylon are further instructed to confide in God for their
restoration and prosperity, by reflecting on the numerous offspring which
he had raised up from their solitary progenitor Abraham, 1—3; the great
end of the restoration consisting in the introduction of the Gospel and its

984

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. LI.

blessings, 4, 5; the frailty and perishableness of the Babylonians and their
empire, 6—8; and the signal display of Divine power exhibited in the
deliverance of their fathers from Egyptian tyranny, 9,10. Jehovah then
expressly promises their redemption, 11; challenges their confidence in
his power and faithfulness, while he assures them of the happy result,
12—15; asserts the Divine commission of the Messiah to re-establish the
Jewish polity, 16; and calls upon the nation to rouse from its deplorable
condition, by an assurance, that, though all human help failed, his inter-
position was certain, and should prove effectual, 17—23.

1 HEARKEN to me, ye that pursue righteousness,

Ye that seek Jehovah ;

Look to the rock whence ye were hewn,
And to the hole of the pit whence ye were dug.

bo

And to Sarah that bare you:

Look to Abraham your father,

Though he was one when I called him,
Yet I blessed him, and made him many.

3 For Jehovah will have compassion upon Zion ;
He will have compassion upon all her wastes:
Yea, he will make her wilderness like Eden,
And her desert like the garden of Jehovah :
Joy and gladness shall be found in her,
Thanksgiving and the voice of praise.

4 Attend to me, O my people!

O my nation! give ear to me ;

For a law shall proceed from me,

And my statute will I establish for a light to the people.
5 My righteousness is near; my salvation goeth forth ;

Mine arms also shall judge the people:

1—3. On the vast increase of the
family of Abraham, according to the
Divine promise, Gen. xii. 1, 2, is
founded an argument to induce faith
in the restoration from Babylon, and
the increase and prosperity of the
Jewish state. The metaphors are
taken from the quarry. For the force
of 7x, in such application, comp. Ezek.
XXxill. 24,

4, 5. These verses are so obviously
parallel to chap. xlii. 1—4, 6, that
they must be regarded as referring

to the same subject—the establish-
ment of the gospel dispensation. To
this, in the plan of the Divine govern-
ment, the restoration of the Jews
was indispensable. For ‘ay, my people,
two MSS., one more originally, and
the Syr., read, "AY, people, in the
plural ; and for "29, my nation, seven
MSS., five more originally, and the
Syr., read ΘΝ, zations. According
to this alteration, the Gentiles, and
not the Jews, would be addressed ;
but the evidence in its favour is not

CHAP. LI.]

ISAIAH.

385

For me the maritime lands shall wait,

And shall expect my arm.

6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
And look upon the earth beneath ;
Verily, the heavens shall vanish like smoke,
And the earth decay like a garment,
And its inhabitants in like manner shall die:
But my salvation shall be eternal,
And my righteousness shall not be abolished.
7 Hearken to me, ye that know righteousness,
The people in whose heart is my law:

Fear not the reproach of men,

Neither be disheartened by their revilings.

8 For the moth shall consume them like a garment,
And the worm shall eat them like wool;
But my righteousness shall be eternal,
And my salvation to all generations.

9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of Jehovah !
Awake, as in ancient days, in the generations of antiquity.
Art thou not the same that cut Rahab in pieces ?

That wounded the dragon ?
10

Art thou not the same that dried up the sea,
The waters of the great abyss,

That made the depths of the sea
A way for the passage of the redeemed ?

to be weighed against that by which
the reading of the Textus Receptus
is supported, especially if we take the
internal evidence into the account.
v7, to restrain, allay, be quiet; im
Hiph. to cause to rest, settle, found.

6. That the natural universe of
created objects is here intended, the
context shews. Jehovah contrasts
with the perishable nature of all such
objects the durability of gospel bless-
ings. ΤΙΣ is a ἅπαξ Ney. Comp. the

Arab. os: valide incessit ; longe abi-

erunt per terram; and , celeriter

movit alas im volatu avis. Hence
δον fugiens ξ ΩΝ Jugitivus. The

idea of fleeting, transitory, seems to be

intended. Thus similarly παρελεύσον-
rar, 2 Pet. ii. 10. y2102 Gesenius
renders like a gnat, but less naturally.
Lowth, nearly the same ; only he had
the delicacy not to name the insect
he had in view. All the ancient ver-
sions take Ὶ9 adverbially.

7,8. The pious in Babylon, who
were exposed to the reproaches and
blasphemous scofts of their enemies,
are encouraged not to be affected by
their revilings.

9, 10. In the animated language of
poetry, Jehovah is represented as ad-
dressing his own Omnipotence, and
calling for its renewed exercise, for
the liberation of his people. For
722, Rosenm. compares θοῦριν ἐπι-
ειμένοι ἀλκὴν, Iliad, xviii. 157. 3,
Rahab, the poetical name of Egypt.

386

11

12

19

ISAIAH. [CHAP, LI.

Thus shall the ransomed of the Lord return,

And come to Zion with singing ;

And everlasting joy shall be upon their heads ;

They shall obtain gladness and joy ;

And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

I, I am he that comforteth you :

Who then art thou, that thou shouldst fear man, that shall die,
Or a son of man, that shall be treated as grass ?

And forget Jehovah thy Maker,

That stretched out the heavens,

And founded the earth ;

And be afraid continually every day,

Of the fury of the oppressor,

As if he were ready to destroy ?
But where is the fury of the oppressor ?

14
He shall not die in the pit ;
Nor be in want of his food.

15 For I, Jehovah, am thy God,

See on chap. xxx. 7. For 135, see on
chap. xxvii. 1—The Infin. 4x? may
best be rendered substantively.

11. The ) introduces the apodosis,
and is best rendered by thus, so, or

Ω . . (A
the like. So Kimchi: 73 ~o2H”

saat mw Ὗ Ὁ» 5, 2.6. the Vau in 75)
stands for }2, for Vau is used to ex-
press the similitude or correspondence
of things. For 303, thirty-nine MSS.,
originally eighteen more, now two,
two of the earliest editions, and the
Syr., read 10, from which it has been
supposed that the text originally
stood 1px 12", especially as the words
occur thus, chap. xxxv. 10, which is
otherwise identical with the present
text.

12, 13. In mx, Thou, fem., Zion is
addressed. The same gender is em-
ployed in the verbs. That Wx2 is
properly rendered, as if, comp. Job x.
19; Zech. x. 6. It must, however,
be noticed, that the > is omitted in
thirty-two MSS. ; originally in eight
more; and in some early editions.
The pointed question at the close of

Speedily shall the bending prisoner be released ;

ver. 13, beautifully introduces the
prediction, ver. 14.

14, av, the bending prisoner, pro-
bably in allusion to the custom of
putting a prisoner into the πεντεσύ-
ptyyos, or five-holed wooden machine,
which held the body in a_bent
posture, the head as well as the hands
and feet being fixed in it. A more
distressing posture cannot well be
imagined. See Michaelis’ Comment.
on the Laws of Moses, vol. iii. p. 443.
Comp. Jer. ii. 20; and the Arab.

law, 50» inclinatus, curvatus futt,
reclinavit caput ; 52» “52. inclinatio.

Lowth, misled by a different use of
the term, chap. Ixii. 1, renders, He
marcheth on, &c., contrary to the
exigency of the following 727), in
Niphal. 172 is often used adverbially
to express the idea of haste or speed.
nm}, here, as 43, Jer. xxviii. 6, Zech.
ix. 11, means a cistern without water,
converted into a dungeon.

15, 16. The gender is now changed
for the masculine. The person ad-

CHAP. 11.]

ISATAH.

387

That calmeth the sea, when the waves thereof roar :

Jehovah of Hosts is his name.
And I have put my words into thy mouth ;

16

Yea, with the shadow of my hand have I covered thee ;
To plant the heavens, and to found the earth ;
And to say to Zion, Thou art my people.

17

Rouse thyself, rouse thyself; arise, O J erusalem !

Thag hast drunk from the hand of Jehovah the cup of his fury ;
That hast drunk, yea, drunk off the goblet,

The cup of intoxication.
18

She has none to lead her of all the sons she bare ;

‘Nor any of all the sons she nurtured to take her by the hand.
19 These two things have happened to thee ;

dressed is the Messiah, to whom
alone the predicates employed can,
with any propriety, be applied. Comp.
chap. xlii. 1, xlix. 1, 2; with which
last verse, the former half of the
second of the present verses is paral-
lel. The 9 in -¥%02), 16°9, and 7x2, con-
nects with the person addressed, and
expresses the end or purpose for
which he was instructed or employed.
The creation ascribed to him is that
of the new Jewish world, the new
state of things to be established after
the captivity. Comp. 2 Cor. v. 17,
where a complete spiritual renovation
is called a καινὴ κτίσις. The Hebrews
were accustomed to speak of a great
political or ecclesiastical revolution
as the destruction or creation of the
heavens and the earth, chap. xiii. 13,
Ixv. 17, 18, Ixvi. 22. y2) is not, as
Lowth imagines, a mistake for nO,
but the proper term by which to
denote the fixing or establishment of
the heavens, conceived of as a ¢ent,—
a metaphor not unusual with the
' sacred writers. It signifies fo plant,
in the sense of fixing or driving into
the ground, the pins or pegs to which
the cords of a tent are fastened. The
‘Logos, as the Angel that was with
the O. T. church, (comp. -chap. Ixiii.
9; Acts vii. 38,) was to bring back
the Jews and establish them, as before,
in their own land.

17. The interposition of the Divine
Redeemer was indispensable, for Jeru-
salem was reduced to a state of utter

helplessness. This is forcibly ex-
pressed in metaphors taken from the
use and effects of intoxicating liquors.
The wrath or anger of Jehovah is
represented as constituting the ingre-
dients of a large cup which he had
put into the hand of the devoted city,
by drinking the entire contents of
which she had stupified herself, stag-
gered and fallen to the ground. In
this prostrate condition she lay, in-
capable of helping herself, and with-
out any one of her citizens to assist
her. They might struggle and toss,
but it would only be like the vain
efforts of the oryx to extricate him-
self from the net in which he is
entangled. At length Jehovah inter-
poses, and transfers the cup to her
oppressors, who, in their turn, ar
reduced to the same condition, while
she, on the contrary, is completely
restored. Comp. Jer. xxv. 15—31,
xlix, 12, li. 7; Lam. iv. 215; Ezek.
Xx. SI—35; Rev. xiv. 10. The
passage is justly considered by Lowth,
as exhibiting sublime poetry of the
highest order. ‘yn7 ivnT is much
more emphatic than the simple "YY
“pr, ver. 9, though even there the
repetition gives ‘intensity to the
style. 729, Syr. ἔ , Arab. Sar sucit,

exsuxit, raeans to drink greedily, drink
off, to the dregs.

19. What the two things here re-
ferred to are has been disputed.
The more natural solution of the

388

Who shall bemoan thee ?—

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. LI.

Desolation and destruction; famine also, and sword :
Who ? I myself will comfort thee.

20
Like the oryx in a net;

Thy sons swoon; they lie at the head of all the streets,

They are full of the fury of Jehovah,

The rebuke of thy God.
21

Wherefore, hear now this, thou afflicted,

And drunken, but not with wine.

22

Thus saith thy Lord, Jehovah,

And thy God, the Defender of his people:
Behold! I will take out of thy hand the cup of intoxication,
The goblet, the cup of my fury :

Thou shalt drink it no more.
23

But I will put it into the hand of thine oppressors,

That have said to thee, Bow down, that we may pass over ;
And thou madest thy back like the ground,
And as the street to the passengers.

difficulty is to regard the four nouns
which follow as divisible into pairs :
Ww and 712 describing the destruction
of the city ; 12) and 297, that of its
inhabitants. The prefixed to each
of the nouns is not without emphasis.
After Ὁ, who, we should have ex-
pected Jou, shall comfort thee? Wut
Jehovah suppresses the rest of the
question, and at once replies, 7272,
1 will comfort thee. The ancient ver-
sions, with the exception of the Targ.,
express the third person.

20. sin, the LXX. strangely render,
σευτλίον ἡμίεφθον, a half-cooked beet ;
but Aquil., Symm., and Theod., ὄρυξ,
the oryx, which is also the rendering
of the Vulg. The LXX., however,
give ὄρυξ as the meaning of inn,
Deut. xiv. 5, of which the form in
the present instance is doubtless a
contraction. The oryx is an animal
of the antelope species, which, in the
East, is still caught in a net.

21, See chap. xxix. 9. Owing to

the close connexion between n12% and
ὯΝ, the former word is put in the
construct. form, though both 8%) and
intervene.

22. 29, from 2, ¢o contend, plead
Jor, defend, is here a noun signifying
a defender ; one who maintains, or vin-
dicates the cause of another. Comp.
av, Hos. v. 13, x. 6; and the parti-
cipial form, Isa. xix. 20.

23. JwH2, to thy soul, i.e. according
to a common Hebraism, ¢o thee. The
metaphor here employed is taken
from the haughty and degrading
manner in which Oriental kings treat
their captives. Ibn Batuta relates,
that when the negroes who appeared
before the black sultan at Mali, in
Nigritia, fell down, they laid bare
their backs, and covered their heads
with dust, as tokens of the most
profound submission : by the former,
indicating that he might walk over
their naked backs. See also Lowth’s
Note.

CHAP. LII.] ISATAH. 389

CHAPTER 1171]. 1—12.

The first twelve verses of this chapter continue the subject with which the
preceding closes—the restoration from Babylon. Jerusalem is called upon
to change her position, 1, 2; reasons are given by Jehovah for his gracious
interference in behalf of the captives, 3—6 ; the joyful announcement of
the event, and the universal joy it would occasion to the liberated, are next
introduced, 7, 8; Jerusalem, as the metropolis of Judza, is summoned to
participate in the joy, while the surrounding nations behold the wonderful
display of Divine power and goodness, 9, 10. The address concludes with
a direct call to the captives to leave Babylon, taking no idolatrous thing

with them, and calmly confiding in their Almighty Deliverer, 11, 12.

The

remaining three verses form the commencement of the celebrated prophecy
of the Messiah, which is continued throughout the following chapter.

1 AWAKE, awake, put on thy splendour, O Zion!
Put on thy beautiful array, O Jerusalem! the holy city ;
For the un¢ircumcised and profane shall enter thee no more.

2 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, take thy seat, O Jerusalem !
Loose thyself from the bands of thy neck,

O captive daughter of Zion!
3 For thus saith Jehovah:

As ye sold yourselves for nought,
So ye shall be redeemed without money.

1, 2. signifies both strength and
glory. Here the latter acceptation is
required by the parallel Myon, deau-
teous array. SD) TY, the uncircumcised
and the impure, are to be restricted to
the Babylonians, who had entered the
holy city, carried off its inhabitants,
and made it desolate. They had
proved the most formidable enemy
the Jews ever had ; but nothing fur-
ther was to be apprehended from them.
Comp. Nah. i. 15, where similar lan-
guage is employed respecting the As-
syrian power. To explain the passage
of other foreigners, would lay it open
to contradiction from facts of history :
Antiochus Epiphanes in particular
having exerted a more polluting and

irreligious influence in Jerusalem, than
even the Chaldeans; while the Ro-
mans also took and destroyed it. Its
application to the Christian Church is
equally unsatisfactory. νὰ, sif, de-
notes, in such connexion, to occupy
an elevated seat or throne; and is
opposed to the prostrate condition
described at the end of the preceding
chapter. The Keri 7m5n7 is found in
the text of a number of MSS., and in
the Soncin., Brix., and Complut.
Editions.

3. As the 1 in 8% is the Vau adaqua-
tionis, it is implied before 037, which
introduces the protasis. Comp. chap.
li. 11. For the sentiment, see chap.
xlv. 13.

ag

ὅ90

ISATAH.

[CHAP. LII.

4 For thus saith the Lord Jehovah:
My people went down at first into Egypt, to dwell there,
And Assyria oppressed them at the last.
5 And now, what have I here, saith Jehovah,
That my people should be taken away for nought?
They that rule over them, howl, saith Jehovah ;
And continually, every day, my name is blasphemed.
6 Assuredly, my people shall know my name ;
Assuredly, they shall know in that day,
That I am the Promiser: Behold me!
7 How beautiful upon the mountains the feet of him that publish-

eth good news!

That announceth peace, that publisheth good,
That announceth salvation, saying to Zion:

Thy God reigneth !

8 Thy watchmen shall raise their voice ;
With their voice shall they sing together ;

For eye to eye shall they see,

4, 5. Two instances of oppression,
from which Jehovah had delivered his
people, are here specified, to assure
them that he would again deliver them.
The latter was that of Sennacherib.
Though 2x3 is nowhere else used in
a temporal sense, yet the exigency of
the parallelism requires it to be so
taken in this place. 75 refers to
heaven, the place of God’s immediate
presence. The interrogation strongly
implies, that God would not, in the
afflicted circumstances of the Jews,
remain inactive, but would descend
and interpose for their deliverance.
Their gratuitous oppression in Baby-
lon, and the contempt poured upon
his holy character by the Babylonians,
are adduced as motives for such inter-
position. There is generally supposed
to be a reference to this passage in
Rom. ii. 24; but it rather seems to be
to Ezek. xxxvi. 22, 23.

6. After the second 135, supply >?
from the preceding. To know the
name of God is to be practically and
experimentally acquainted with the
Divine character :—here, especially,
the Divine faithfulness.

7—9. Messengers are sent before-

hand to Judea, to announce the
deliverance. They are seen hastening
over the mountains,—an object most
grateful to the spectators. The joyful
proclamation is made, that the God of
Zion reigns. The watchmen on the
ruinous walls of Jerusalem, as with
one voice, repeat the news. The eye
of each inhabitant catches that of his
fellow: all is ecstasy at the joyful
event. The language employed is, in
part, employed elsewhere, as chap. xl.
9, xliv. 23, xlix. 13, but nowhere is
the whole combined ashere. Nahum
uses the identical phraseology re-
specting the messengers who an-
nounced the destruction of Nineveh,
chap. ii. 1 (Eng. Trans. i. 15); and the
Apostle Paul quotes it in illustration
of his statements relative to the first
preachers of the Gospel, Rom. x. 15.
The point of beauty in the feet of the
messengers is not their being torn and
dusty, as Campbell expounds, which,
though presenting a spectacle natu-
rally offensive, yet are, in consideration
of the welcome message, converted
into one that is pleasing and delight-
ful; but the speed with which they
bear the messengers forward. In 4p

CHAP. LI. |

When Jehovah restoreth Zion.

ISAIAH.

591

9 Burst out, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem !
For Jehovah hath comforted his people ;

He hath redeemed Jerusalem.
Jehovah hath made bare his holy arm

10
Before all the nations ;

And all the ends of the earth shall see

The salvation of our God.
11
Touch not the unclean ;

Go out from the midst of her;

Depart ye, depart ye, go out thence ;

Be pure, ye that bear the vessels of Jehoyah !

12

For ye shall not go out with haste,

Neither shall ye proceed in flight ;

For Jehovah goeth before you,
The God of Israel shall also bring up your rear.

is an ellipsis of 3, which is. very
common. For the true meaning of
mm 2103, in opposition to Lowth’s
construction, see Ps. xiv. 7. pya py,
eye in eye, or eye to eye, is generally
explained as signifying clearness of
vision, or unanimity of opinion.
There does not appear to be any
thing in the connexion to warrant
such exegesis. The phrase occurs
besides only in Numb. xiv. 14, where
it is used for the purpose of expressing
the indubitable certainty of the Divine
manifestations to Israel. Here the
subject is not the discovery or revela-
tion of the mind of God, but the joy
felt on hearing of the downfal of
Babylon. Nothing is more natural
than for one person whose feelings
are elated with joy, to look to the
glistening eyes of another who is
equally interested in the cause by
which it is produced. The phrases,
mm 23 72, Numb: xii. 8, and Ὁ} ox 028,
Exod, xxxiii, 11, are not exactly
parallel. The change of dD into
ΟΣ is obviously by emendation.

10. This verse is anticipative of
chap. hii. 1. The restoration from
Babylon was to be introductory to a
greater deliverance, in which all the
inhabitants of the world should be
personally interested.

11. The Jews in general, and the

»

priests in particular, are summoned
to leave the place of their captivity ;
and, by purification and separation
from every idolatrous and sinful ob-
ject, to prepare for their return to
the holy land. In dw and azine, Baby-
Jon 18 understood by implication.
Comp. chap. xlviii. 20. So far as
external obedience was concerned,
there is every reason to conclude that
this order was punctually obeyed. To
bear the sacred vessels would naturally
devolve upon the priests, though
committed by Cyrus to the care of
Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah,
Ezra i. 7—11, v. 13—15, vi. 5. Comp.
for the sentiment, Rev. xviii. 4. Part
of the words are appropriated by Paul,
2 Cor. vi. 17, for the purpose of
warning Christians against having any
fellowship with idolaters.

12. The exodus from Babylon was
to be very different from that out of
Egypt. 187, hasty flight, is the very
term employed, Exod. xii, 11, Deut.
xvi. 3, to express the hasty manner in
which the Hebrews ate the passover
on the eve of their departure from
the latter country. The metaphor of
the van and rear-guard is likewise
borrowed from the same _ history,
Exod. χῖν. 19. Under the immediate
protection of Jehovah, their covenant
God, the Jews had nothing to fear.

392 ISAIAH. [CHAP. LII.

CHAPTER LIT. 13—LIII.

That a new section of the book, including these fifteen verses, begins here, is
universally admitted. The prominence given to the SERVANT OF JEHOVAH;
the depth of his humiliation ; his unpretending and unpromising appear-
ance; the vicarious nature of his sufferings and death; his subsequent
exaltation, success, conquests, and glory,—present a fout-ensemble of cha-
racter unequalled by any exhibited elsewhere in Scripture. The prophet
collects into one focus the various rays of light which he and preceding
seers had scattered abroad for the purpose of revealing to the Jewish
people the Illustrious Deliverer that was to come. Hence the unparalleled
perspicuity of the prophecy, and the facility with which all its parts apply
to the Messiah ; while every attempt to excogitate hypotheses in support
ofyother subjects has only obscured and perplexed it.

That the Jews would violently oppose the application of the passage to Jesus
of Nazareth was naturally to be expected. When adduced, in argument
with them, by Origen, they explained it of the sufferings of their own
nation ; and this hypothesis is adopted by Jarchi, Abenezra, Kimchi, Abar-
banel, and Lipmann ; only some of these writers are of opinion that the
pious part of the nation is intended. Some few have endeavoured to
interpret it of the pious king Josiah; and others, among whom Saadias
Haggaon, of the prophet Jeremiah. Jonathan, however, in his Targum, the
Midrash Tanhuma, the Pesikta, Moses Haddarshan, the Talmud, the Mid-
rash Tillim, and the books Rabboth, Chasidim, and Zohar, more or less
unreservedly apply it to the Messiah ; and Rabbi Alshech, in his Commen-
tary on the prophecy, avows it as his opinion that such application of it is
obviously the right one. To which may be added, that of those Jews who
have truly embraced the Christian faith, most have been impelled to take
the step by the evidence which the prophecy Puppy of the identity of
the suffering and glorified Messiah.

Grotius was the first professedly Christian author sit interpreted the section
of any other than our Saviour. His hypothesis, however, that Jeremiah
was intended, has not been adopted by any, except Seidel, and Collins, in
his Scheme of Literal Prophecy. Schuster, Eichhorn, Telge, Stephani,
Rosenmiiller in his later Commentaries, Hitzig, and others, interpret the
section of the Jewish people collectively ; while Paulus, Ammon, Maurer,
and Thenius, suppose the pious portion of that people to be meant.
According to the earlier opinion of Rosenmiiller, which he abandoned, but
which has been adopted by De Wette and Gesenius, the prophetic order, or
the collective body of the prophets, forms the subject of the prediction.
Other hypotheses of minor note may be seen in Hengstenberg, as quoted,
chap. xlii. 1.

The exclusive application of the passage to Christ was more or less ably

CHAP. LII. | ISATAH. 393

justified by several of the Fathers in their controversies both with Jews
and Pagans. In modern times its defence has been sustained by J. H. and
J. Ὁ. Michaelis, Moldenhauer, Lowth, Koppe, Kocher, Dathe, Déderlein,
Cube, Henzler, Hezel, Hess, Storr, Hansi, Martini, v.d. Palm, Scholz, and
others; and more especially by Hengstenberg, wf swp.,and Reinke in his
admirable Exegesis Critica in Jesaiz, cap. lii. 13—liii. 12, seu de Messia Ex-
piatore Passuro et Morituro Commentatio, &c. Minster, 1836, 8vo. To these
two writers I refer the reader, since they may be regarded as having ex-
hausted the subject, and supplied the best critical expositions of the pro-
phecy. Those who may not have access to their works will find a brief but
very satisfactory reply to the arguments of Gesenius, in Dr. J. Pye Smith’s
Four Discourses on the Sacrifice and Priesthood of Christ, London, 1828,
note ix. p. 260. That it was our Redeemer alone that'the prophet had in
his eye, must be admitted by all who fully allow the Divine authority of
the N. T., and have impartially examined the following passages, in which
certain parts of the prediction are either referred to, or expressly quoted
with such application : Matt. viii. 17; Mark xv. 28 ; Luke xxii. 37 ; John i.
29, xii. 38, 41; Acts viii. 30—35 ; Rom. x. 16; 1 Pet. ii. 21—25.

In chap. lii. 13—15, Jehovah introduces the Messiah, and announces his exalta-
tion and preceding sufferings ; liii. 1—10 contains the language of the pro-
phet, complaining of the infidelity of the Jews, 1; describing the scandal
and contempt with which they regarded his humble and suffering condition,
2,3; asserting the cause of his sufferings to be the sins of others, 4—6;
setting forth several remarkable circumstances connected with them, 7—9 ;
and predicting the glorious effects in which they should result, 10. At the
middle of ver. 11, a renewed declaration commences, which is confirmatory
of what had been previously advanced respecting the work of the Messiah,
the propitiatory nature of his sufferings, and the certainty of his remunera-
tive triumphs, 11, 12.

13 BreHo“p! my Servant shall prosper ;
He shall be raised, and extolled, and highly exalted.

13. This and the two following
verses form the text on which chap.
liii. may be said to be a commentary.
From the deliverance to be effected
by Cyrus, the prophet makes a sudden,
but natural transition to that infi-
nitely more glorious salvation which
the Messiah should effect ; and shews
that the latter was to be achieved, not
by conquest, but by suffering. 737 is
here used δεικτικώς, for the purpose of
drawing special attention to Him and
his work. For 7%" 72¥, comp. xli. 1,
19, xlix. 3, 5, 1. 8 As Cyrus had

succeeded and attained toa high pitch
of worldly elevation and renown, so
the greater future Deliverer should
prosper in his spiritual undertaking,
and be crowned with glory and honour.
y27, most of the ancient versions
have taken in the acceptation of being
prudent, intelligent, &c.; but the ren-
dering of the Targ. sto IP Mz? NF,
“Behold! my Servant the Messiah
shall prosper,” better suits the con-
nexion. That the verb has this signi-
fication, see Deut. xxix. 9 ; Josh. 1. 7,
8; Prov, xvii. 8; and, as here, in

ὦ ee

394

14

ia ISALAH.

[CHAP. 1111.

a.
s many were shocked at thee,

(Such was the disfiguration of his appearance more than that of

any man,

And of his form more than that of the sons of men :)

εἴ. Βο shall he sprinkle many nations:

Kings shall shut their mouths on account of him ;
For what had not been told them, they shall see ;
And what they had not heard, they shall perceive.

reference to the Messiah, Jer. xxiii.
δ. 7722) 87) DTV are Ssynonymes em-
ployed to express the superlative ex-
altation and glory of the Redeemer.
Comp. Eph. i. 20—23 ; Phil. ii.9—11;
Heb. ii. 7—9. The Midrash Tanhuma,
taking each of the verbs separately, ex-
plains the passage thus : moan 7 ΠῚ
ΒΝ YO TIN MoD NON OAK yO ON—
mot, This is the King Messiah,—who
shall be higher than Abraham, more ele-
vated than Moses, and exalted above the
ministering angels.

14, 15. To the words Ἰοὺ Wwx2, Ke.
forming the protasis, correspond ΠΡ 73,
&c. which introduce the apodosis. The
72, in ver. 14, is merely expletive of
what precedes it, and introduces an
exegetical parenthesis. The change
of 2, at thee, into YY, at him, which
is the reading of two MSS., the Targ.,
and Syr., is doubtless an emendation.
Similar instances of enallage of person
are not uncommon in Hebrew poetry.
The 14th verse commences with a
direct address, which form gives way
to the use of the third person, more
appropriately used in description, and
is not resumed, OW is used intran-
sitively to express the shock felt by
the mind on the discovery of any un-
expected object or event. Here, as in
Jer. ii. 12, xviii. 16, xix. 8, it conveys
the idea of disappointment and aver-
sion. With such feelings the bulk of
the Jewish people (02) regarded our
Saviour ; and consequently derived no
benefit from his atonement. When,
on the other hand, he was preached
unto the Gentiles (ἔθνεσιν, 03), they
believed, and participated in its bless-
ings. nm is the construct. of Nw,
corruption, deformity, disfigurement, from
nm, ¢o corrupt, spoil, deface. It is in

construction with 27872, though sepa-
rated from it by xp, just as V23 is
from 0", in DX sax 23, Job xv. 10.
See also Isa. xix. 8. The preposition
ΤῸ is here, as in the clause just quoted
from Job, to be taken in its compara-
tive, and not, with Hengstenberg, Hit-
zig, and Reinke, in its negative or
privative acceptation. Filling up the
ellipses, the passage will read thus:
ASAD TNA NTO Ws AVON WANT NT 72
Dis 33, Such was the disfigurement of his
countenance, more than that of the counte-
nance of any man, and the disfigurement of
his form more than that of the form of the
sons of men. In the second line of a pa-
rallelism, the term which expresses the
thing compared is frequently omitted.
Some of the moderns, after Jerome,
limit the description here given to the
humble and abject condition of the
Messiah ; but, that the effects of the
bodily injuries inflicted upon him, as
well as of the intense mental anguish
to which he was subject, are likewise
to be taken into the account, the
minute detail of his sufferings in

the following chapter abundantly
proves. oa) ΝᾺ ΠΡ 72. The verb 73,

which occurs here in the Hiph. Con-
jugation, signifies, in every other
instance, ¢o sprinkle, besprinkle. 'The
idea of leaping for joy, exulting, &e., to
which Gesenius assigns the primary
place in his Lexicon, is unsustained
by a single example from Hebrew
usage, or from any of the kindred

dialects. The Arab. Ι» which has

been compared, has no such signi-
fication,—the rendering, erul/avit pre
hilaritate, which Golius gives from
the Kamdos, being founded on an
erroneous reading. See Freytag. In

CHAP. 1.11.]}

ISAIAH.

395

CHAPTER 1111.

1 Who hath believed our report ?
And to whom hath the arm of Jehovah been revealed ?

Ethiopic the corresponding verb is
VHS <7, respersit, conspersit ; hence

‘@MTH'S: LUV: the sprinkling of blood,
Heb. xi. 28; ΣΉ ΠΤ : EYL : the
same, xii.24;and ΠΡ HET: GOU:

AH.Preri : ACI : through

the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ,
i 'Pet, “1 2. ‘Comp.’ Heby *ix.” 19!

MVRIHS: σὺ χά. : ACT:

(Ὁ Π“ Δο: (VHD : ad sprinkled the

book of the law, and all the people. The
Vulg. and Syr. accordingly render,

“- v wi
asperget gentes multas: [πωλῶν jo Foe)

v
(lone purifying ov expiating many

nations. With such support we may
dismiss the derivations of Schroeder,
Gesenius, Martini, Michaelis, and
others, and acquiesce in the decision
of First, in his Heb. Concord. “ At
vero nil impedit, quominus etiam hoc
loco ingenitam verbi significationem
retineamus.” This signification he
shews to be rigure, irrigare, inspergere,
adspergere, imbuere. On consulting the
passages in the Levitical code in which
the verb occurs, instances will be
found of an ellipsis both of the mate-
rial sprinkled, and the preposition %,
upon, just as in the present case. See
Lee’s Sermons and Dissert. pp. 199—
202. The ceremonial use of the term,
and the N. T. allusions to it, quoted
above, shew the meaning to be, that
the Messiah would extend to the
nations the purifying efficacy of his
blood. The offence taken at him by
the Jews, and the experience of his
salvation by the numerous Gentile
nations (0°21 0%3), form a striking anti-
thesis. For 72 y2p, fo shut the mouth,

comp. Job xxix. 9. It means, to
maintain a respectful silence, and so
to acknowledge the superiority of the
person to whom it is shewn. 7x} here
signifies to perceive mentally. The
preaching of the Gospel, as the means
of extending throughout the world
the blessings of redemption, is clearly
implied in the prophetic description ;
while the history of the Church abun-
dantly exhibits the fulfilment of the
prediction.

Cuapter LIII.—1. The prophet re-
sumes the subject of the offence taken
by the Jews at the meanness of our
Lord’s outward appearance ; and to
intimate, that few, if any of them,
would receive the testimony borne by
himself and other divinely-inspired
messengers on the subject, he asks,
Who hath believed, &.? πυνοῦ or
mow is properly the Pah. Part. and
signifies what has been heard by any
one. Chrysostom so understands it
here: οὐκ εἶπε, τῇ διδασκαλίᾳ ἡμῶν
ἐνταῦθα δεικνὸς, ὅτι οὐκ οἴκοθέν τι ἐφθέγ-
γοντο ἀλλ᾽ ἅπερ ἤκουσαν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ
ταῦτα ἀπήγγελαν. Thus also Martini,
Jahn, Rosenmiiller, and others. That
it was not, however, intended to con-
vey the idea of the Divine origin of
the message, appears from the zwsus
loquendi, according to which it is em-
ployed actively, to denote a report or
testimony communicated to and heard

by others. Comp.the Ethiopic f}"UUg,

audivit, testificatus est; FY (7, cesti-

mony. UXX. ἀκοὴ, Rom. x. 16. Targ.
NIANDI, our announcement. YIN, arm,
like δ, hand, denotes power as put
forth in act. The meaning is, that
few would recognise in the Messiah
the efficacious interposition of Jeho-
vah for the deliverance of Israel. To
such, however, as believed, he was
Θεοῦ δύναμιν καὶ Θεοῦ σοφίαν, 1 Cor. i.

396

ISAIAH.

[CHAP LITT.

2 For he grew up like a sucker before them,
And like a root out of dry ground:
He had neither form nor splendour, that we should regard him ;
Nor appearance, that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and contemned by men,
A man of sorrows, and familiar with grief,

24. No importance is to be attached
to the use of ὅν, instead of ?and 5x,
which, in all other instances, follow
723, since these prepositions are other-
wise often interchangeable. Comp.

the Arab. le | Je, in Harir.

2. The Ὁ in YY is causal, and, at the
same time, connects the verb with
yy, chap. 11]. 15: the subject being
the Servant of Jehovah there spoken
of. my is frequently used of the
growth of plants. 72%, properly a suck-
ling ; here a sucker or shoot sprouting
up from the root of a tree that has
been cut down to the ground. Hence
ww, roof, the corresponding syno-
nyme ; meaning that which springs from
the root. Comp.a similar metaphorical
use of this word, and of 7 and ¥3,
chap. xi. 1, and the note on that verse.
The suffix in Y28? cannot, with any
propriety, be referred to Jehovah ;
since it was not in his estimation, but
in that of the Jewish people, that the
Messiah was as a root out of a dry
ground. It is true, DY, people, does not
precede; but it is obviously under-
stood in the interrogative Ὁ, in the
foregoing verse. 0Y2 Ὁ, Who among the
people; i.e. the Jews. A more insig-
nificant and unpromising object can-
not well be imagined, than a solitary
sprout in an arid soil, and under a
sultry oriental sky. The figure strik-
ingly sets forth the reduced and ob-
scure condition of the family of David
at the time of our Lord’s appearance.
Of the application of part of the lan-
guage to the Virgin Mary, by Euse-
bius, Theodoret, Jerome, and other
Fathers, we may say with Calvin :
“extra rem loquuntur.” 87 and Ny
are repeated from chap. lii. 14, only
with the superadded idea of beautiful
or graceful; which, indeed, 177, orna-
ment, splendour, expresses. There is
clearly a reference to the splendour

and pomp of the regal state, by which
monarchs are distinguished from those

around them. Nosuch majestymarked ἡ

the Messiah. The Athnach should
have been placed at ™z, and not at
ὙΠΟ, as the parallelism shews. Symm.
has rightly rendered the Ὁ before the
verbs by iva. The prophet uses the plu-
ral per xoiveow,—identifying himself
with his nation, though he condemned
their conduct.

3. What had just been described
negatively is now asserted positively.
Dw is a rare plural, instead of ΣΝ ;
occurring only besides in Ps. exli. 4 ;
Proy. vill. 4. Dx 517 has been vari-
ously rendered. LXX. ἐκλεῖπον παρὰ
τοὺς υἱοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Symm. ἐλά-
χιστος ἀνδρῶν. Vulg. novissimus viro-

207 ὁ Ν
rum. Syr. [.Δ1]» [3ιῶϑο, humillimus
=

hominum. Abenezra similarly, 7
Dyn ov rw, he ceased to be reckoned
with men. Most of the moderns ap-
prove of the sense brought out by

comparing the Arab. UA, spe et aua-
{0 destituit ; sda, destitutus ope,

derelictus, contemptus; which seems
sufficiently justified by ‘27277, my
intimate friends have abandoned me, Job
xix. 14. See Schultens zz Joc. As,
however, those who are thus deserted
are usually despised or contemned,
hence the idea of contempt or abhor-
rence is here conveyed. 2) and 777
are thus synonymes. As to form, 71)
is a verbal adj. from the intrans. verb,
517, to leave off, cease, desert, &&. Ws is
elegantly borrowed from the preceding
ows; or, if we suppose it to have
been previously in the prophet’s
mind, it may have occasioned the use
of this plural. makin wy, a man of
sorrows, according to a Hebrew idiom,
“a man of many sorrows ;” one who is.

CHAP. 1111.]

ISATAH.

397

So that men hid their face from him ;
He was despised, and we regarded him not..

4 But it was our griefs he bare,

the subject of great or manifold suffer-
ings. Comp. ningn wy, a man of re-
proofs; i.e. one frequently reproved,
Prov. xxix. 1, 282 signifies to be pained
or wounded, either in body or mind, but
more usually the latter. Comp. the Syr.

ols, doluit ; Arab. wt and we,

malo statu mestoque animo fuit, 77 νυν,
Symm. renders γνωστὸς νόσῳ, known
by sickness, and is followed by Jahn,
Martini, Rosenmiller, Gesenius, and
Maurer. According to this interpre-
tation, the meaning would be, that
the Messiah was distinguished from
all other men by the intensity of his
sufferings. The parallelism, however,
requires that the Messiah himself
should be the subject of the know-
ledge or experience here spoken οἵ:
knowing, experienced in, familiar with
suffering. ‘That the Pahul Part. is to
be taken in this sense, comp. Deut. i.
13, 15; where Dy? is manifestly
synonymous with 0337 D937, and is to
be rendered, knowing, skilful, or the
like. The LXX., Syr., and Vulg., ap-
pear to have read yt), which is found
in eight MSS., originally in one more,
and now in four others by correction.
The reading of De Rossi’s MS. 319,
ym, is not entitled to notice. τ, the
Pause punctuation for ἍΤ, weakness, af-
fliction, pain, sickness, is used both of
corporeal and of mental disease ; and
of what is inflicted by another, as
well as of what arises from natural
causes in the subject. In the present
connexion, all ideas of natural malady
or infirmity would be most irrelevant.
Comp. vers. 5, 6, 7, 8, 10. Commen-
tators are generally agreed that the
prophet uses the word figuratively to
denote the severe bodily and mental
sufferings to which our Lord was sub-
jected. a9 20227nDD. The 1 is here
to be taken ἐκβατικῶς ; and the 3 is
the Caph veritatis. Literally: So that
there was a hiding of face from him.
The LXX., Aq., Vulg., and Targ., and
some modern translators, have ren-
dered the suffix in 1299 as that of the
first person plural; but less aptly.

Isaiah represents the Saviour as an
object of disgust to the Jews, in lan-
guage calculated to produce on the
mind a strong impression of their
hatred to his person and claims ; and
closes the verse, as he had begun it,
with 22: only adding a negative
proposition for the sake of greater
energy.

4, ὯΝ is strongly adversative, and
is designed pointedly to direct the
attention of the reader to the fact,
that the sorrow and grief which had
just been attributed to the Messiah
were not occasioned by any thing in
himself, but were inflictions, which,
but for his substitution, we must have
borne. To mark this more distinctly,
the identical words “7 and 3829 are
repeated from the preceding verse.
In both instances they denote in-
flictions, or sufferings, on account of
sin. Hence the LXX. and Symm.
render: tds ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν. Hengsten-
berg appositely remarks, “ that no pas-
sage in the New Testament, relative to
the atoning death of Jesus, is more
dogmatically definite than the present.
No wonder that the unbelieving Jews
should be perplexed in their attempts
to interpret it. It is, and ever must
be, a rock of offence to them while
they reject the true Messiah, who died
for our sins and was raised again for
our justification.” For 17, eleven
MSS., the Ven. Ed. of 1525—28, and
seventeen other editions, have the full
plural form, 27. And instead of
ἜΝ ΘΟ, upwards of twenty MSS., and
two editions, read 722829 ; but all, the
ancient versions have the plural. Be-
fore 0920, thirteen MSS., originally five
more, now three; four editions, and
many more, insert x7 as a Keri ; yet
it is probably a mere repetition, by
some copyist, from the preceding
hemistich. It has been maintained
by some, that the verbs x2 and 72D
signify simply, to bear away, remove,
&c., and convey no idea of suffering or
bearing, in the way of punishment 3,
but in direct opposition to fact, and
to the spirit of the context. Not only

ond

398

ISATAH.

[CHAP. LIII.

Yea, it was our sorrows he carried.
We, indeed, accounted him smitten,

are the phrases, JY N02, NOT NDI, Zo
bear sin, to bear iniquity, used of one
who suffers for his own sin, but also
of the expiation made for the sin of
others, by vicarious suffering. See
Ley. v. 1, 17, xvii. 16, xxiv. 15; Numb.
ix. 13, xiv. 33; Exod. xxviii. 38; Lev.
x. 17, xvi. 22. Thus also, in ver. 12
of this very chapter, D27ROT 37)
δ), Aud he bare the sin, i.e. the
punishment due to the sin, of many.
Comp., fora similar usage, in Arab.

Koran, ¢xxix, 11. 12) οὐδ Je,
w=, ὕλμω las] Ipiel ωοδὸν \yp3S
“τ ak CaN Sane) heat
μῶν ol pl cot ον

“And the unbelievers say to those
who believe : Follow our way, and we
will bear your sins ; but they shall not
bear any part of their sins, but they
shall bear their own burdens.” In like
manner, 72D signifies ¢o sustain or bear ;
to bear as a burden what another cannot
bear ; to bear what is imposed by another,
either by oppression, or as punishment.
Hence the nouns, 930, 535, %3D, 720,
a burden. But it also signifies to bear
or suffer vicariously,—the idea of the
weight or burden of the punishment
being necessarily implied. Thus Lam.
v. 7, 920 ony ams, We bear their
tniquities, 1.e. the infliction due to
their iniquities ; their penal conse-
quences. Comp. ver. 11 of this chap.
7am xT ἘΠ νὴ, Hor he sustained the in-
fliction of their iniquities. That such
is the meaning of the verb here, Ge-
senius himself allows. “ 51D,—trop.
to bear the sorrows, sins, of any one,
i.e. to suffer the punishment which
another has merited,’ Heb. Lex. iz
voc. ‘Thus also Winer, in his Edit.
of Simonis: “trop. peccatum alicujus
bajulare est peccati ponas gravis-
simas perpeti,” Jes. liii. 11; Thren.
v. 7. The words are also quoted
in the ancient Rabbinical work,

. 7 . t Us
entitled Pesikfa; mwa wy mI sows
“
1 ἼΩΝ TWA now) WL aD NOD ANN YP
mow we Ὁ ΓΝ Sod mead ome aS

judgment.

pq? pow ὙΌΣ Se 0 ἼΩΝ PTY WON DD
SIDR Ὁ ἼΩΝ NDI MTT PX PIT Nw ow
mmow2 ome; “ When the blessed
Creator made his world, he stretched
out his hand under the throne of glory,
and brought out the soul of the
Messiah. He then said to him: Wilt
thou heal and redeem my sons after
six thousand years? He replied:
Yes. Then God said to him: Wilt
thou bear the inflictions in order to
purge their iniquity, as it is written :
But it was our diseases he bore? He
said to him: I will bear them joyfully.”
Such was the construction put upon
it by the LXX.: Otros τὰς ἁμαρτίας
ἡμῶν φέρει, καὶ περὶ ἡμῶν ὀδυνᾶται ;
Symmachus, αὐτὸς ἀνέλαβε, καὶ τοὺς
πόνους ὑπέμεινεν. To the doctrine of
the vicarious sufferings of the Messiah,
as here taught, it has been objected,
that the words are quoted Matt. viii.
17, in application to our Lord's re-
moval of bodily diseases. But the
objection would only be valid, if it
could be shewn that the application
made by the Evangelist was designed
to exhaust the meaning of the pro-
phet. The instances of miraculous
cures were merely an incipient ful-
filment of the prediction: a type or
specimen of what was to be eftected
by our Lord’s mediation generally.
The Jews were taught to regard disease
as the temporal punishment of sin ;
and since the prophet clearly shews,
in the following verse, that the end to
be attained by the substitutionary
sufferings of the Messiah, was the
removal of punishment from the
guilty, the quotation was appositely
applied to the removal of bodily dis-
tempers, as a partial attainment of
that end. See Magee on the Atone-
ment, vol. i. pp. 412—435, third edit.,
Lond. 1812. 13, smitten, by Divine
The verb is specially ap-
plied to the infliction of such diseases
as the plague or leprosy. Hence
Jerome renders, leprosus. Aq. ἀφή-
μενον. Symm. ἐν ἁφῇ ὄντα. Theod.
better, μεμαστιγῶμένον. The words,
Tym ovis mp, are exegetical,—ex-
pressing, in plain terms, the opinion

CHAP. LIII.|

ISAIAH.

399

Stricken by God, and afflicted :

5 But he was wounded on account of our transgressions ;
He was bruised on account of our iniquities :
The infliction with a view to our peace was upon him,

of the Jews, that the sufferings of our
Lord were inflicted as the immediate
punishment of great personal guilt.
That they were accustomed to draw
similar conclusions, see Luke xiii. 1;
John ix. 2. That 39, smitten, is rightly
pointed in the construct, and cannot
be read as the absolute, as Bellarmine
would have it, 1. 6. ὦ smitten God, is
.sufficiently clear from the connexion.

5. The prophet now describes in
plain terms what he had expressed
figuratively in the preceding verse.
270, the Pass. Part. in Poel, might
be rendered pierced,—being derived

from 3, Arab gy perforatus est, to

bore, pierce, ἕο. It would thus dis-
tinctly recognise the piercing of the
hands, feet, and side of our Redeemer,
as described by the Evangelists.
Comp. Ps. xxii. 16; Zech. xii. 10.
But that it is better to adopt the more
extended signification of the verb,
appears from the general use of &379,
following. Thus the LXX. érpavpa-

τίσθη. Arab, or vulnus accepit ;
Il. malta inflixit vuluera. The Syr. has

Ψ
Qo lsc , oecisus est ; a signification

which > certainly has, Gen. xxxiv.
27 ; Jer. xiv.18. 823, to break in small
pieces, crush, expresses the excessive
_ severity of our Lord’s sufferings.

Comp. ver. 10 ; Luke xxii. 44; Matt. /xii. 20.

xxvil. 46 ; Ps. xxii. 14—17. The pre-
position 72 has here the causative
| signification, and marks the causa
eficiens, the immediate ground or
reason of these sufferings. 329917 7079,
lit. the punishment of our peace; but
as such construction is altogether
abhorrent from the English idiom,
the phrase must be rendered peri-
phrastically, the infliction by which our

ppeace is effected, i. e. the exemplary

' sufferings which were required in order
to our enjoying immunity from punish-
ment. The genitive is that of object,
1D, being derived from 70, fo chasten,

figuratively as a cure.

correct, with a view to moral improve-
ment, (hence fo teach, generally,) to

punish, as a warning to others, conveys

the idea of sufferings, which, while
they atoned for our sins, and thereby
procured for us reconciliation with
God, furnished a public illustration of
the great principles of his moral
government. They were pana exem-
plaris. This, however, is only a
secondary idea, and must not be taken
to the exclusion of suffering, which is
the primary signification of the term.
The LXX. have παιδεία ; but both
παιδεία and παιδεύω are currently used
by them in the sense of inflicting cas-
tigation or punishment. See Magee,

on v
ut sup. p. 401; Syr. 1Zo2;80 > casti-

gatio, correptio ; Arab. wo, instruxit,
docuit, castigavit spec. verberibus. The
use of 2, “wpon him,” plainly shews
that vicarious punishment is meant,
For 213, thirty-two MSS., orig. two
more, and one in the marg.; four of
the early, and thirty-one other
editions, read 2194 in the plural,
which would express the abundance
and variety of blessings flowing to us
through the death of the Messiah.
The plural of this noun is not used
elsewhere. For the doctrine, comp.
chap. ix. 6 ; Micah v.5; Zech. vi. 13:
Eph. ii. 14—17 ; Col. i. 20, 21 ; Heb.
It distinctly expresses that
transfer of our guilt on the one hand,

/and of the merit of the Mediator on
\the other, which lies at the foundation
‘of the whole scheme of redemption.

man is taken collectively, and must be.
rendered in the plural. The personal
pronouns of the third singular are
emphatic and in striking antithesis
with those of the first person. 8273,
a partic. noun, from x2}, /o heal ; but~

| as diseases are spoken of in Scripture }
/as a punishment for sin, so deliverance ,

from the effects of sin is represented
Comp. chap.
vi. 10, note ; Mark iv. 12; and ver, 4

400

ΙἸΒΑΙΔΉ.

[CHAP. 1111.

That by his stripes we might be healed.
6 All we, like sheep, have gone astray ;

We have turned each to his own way ;

But Jehovah hath inflicted upon him the punishment of us all.
7 He was severely afilicted, yet he submitted himself,

And opened not his mouth ;

of the present chapter. The adver-
sative conjunction } refers back to 72x,
ver. 4. It is well observed by Stier,
that the whole passage, the whole
prophet, much more the whole Scrip-
ture, Rom. v. 10 not excepted, know
nothing of enmity or wrath on the
part of the Father, which required to
be removed by the sufferings of Christ.
The Saviour was never more the ob-
ject of the Divine delight than when
he suffered on the cross and in the
garden of Gethsemane. The sufferings
to which our Redeemer was subjected
were no expression of Divine oppo-
sition to him personally, but to our
sins, for which he had undertaken to
atone.

6. A common but very significant
metaphor, teaching the folly, diversity,
universality, and guilt of sin. It is
here specially introduced for the pur-
pose of accounting for the intensity
of the Messiah’s sufferings. Comp.
Ps! exix. 176: 1 Pet. 11. 95. Οὔτε yap
ἴσα πάντων τὰ πλημμελήματα, οὐδὲ εἷς
ὁ τρόπος" ἄλλα γὰρ τὰ ᾿Αιγυπτίων εἴδωλα,
καὶ ἄλλα τὰ Φοινίκων" καὶ τὰ Ἑλλήνων
ἕτερα, καὶ ἄλλα τῶν Σκυθῶν" ἄλλ᾽ ὅμως
εἰ καὶ διάφοροι τῆς πλάνης οἱ τρόποι,
πάντες ὁμοίως τὸν ὄντα Θεὸν καταλελοι-
πότες ἐῴκειμεν προβάτοις πλανωμένοις,
καὶ προκειμένοις τοῖς λύκοις. 'Theodoret
in loc. The same holds true of trans-
gressors individually. No two sin
precisely alike; but all, without ex-
ception, are in a state of apostasy,
guilt, and peril. The in 757 is ad-
versative, and introduces the second
member of the antithesis. 11 »257, ὅσο,
the LXX. paraphrase, παρέδωκεν αὐτὸν
ταῖς ἁμαρτίᾳις ἡμῶν ; but the verb
properly signifies ¢o fall in with, or act
upon any one, and is used both in a
friendly and in a hostile sense. Here
the latter obviously obtains; hence
some interpreters render, with Kimchi,
hostiliter in eum irruere fecit. Simply

to lay upon, is too weak ; Symm. better,
καταντῆσαι ἐποίησεν, caused to reach,
i. 6. as the object on which the punish-
ment was inflicted. Comp. Numb.
xxxii. 23 ; and for the signification of
vi2, in a hostile sense, Judg. vii. 21 ;
1 Sam. xxii. 17; 2Sam.i.15; 1 Kings
ii. 29; Amos v. 19. Punishment is
here represented under the metaphor
of a wild beast, to which straying
sheep are exposed in the wilderness.
It is eagerly looking out for its
victims ; but, instead of falling in
with them, it comes in contact with
the shepherd himself, and while it
attacks him, the sheep make their
escape. Thus the Messiah, having as
Mediator interposed himself between
his people and the punishment which
was coming upon them, received it .
upon his sacred person in their
room. Comp. Zech. xiii. 7; Matt.
xxvi. 81; John x. 1—18; 1 Pet.
ii. 24, 25. The transition from the
condition of the sheep, in the former
half of the antithesis, to that of the
Shepherd, was natural and easy. }Y
is a collective noun, which accounts
for the ancient versions exhibiting
the plural, 253253 are correlates,

7. Cyril among the ancients, Sanc-
tius, Sanchez, Hensler, Dathe, Kuinoel,
Jahn, Lowth, Crusius, Moller, Green,
Boothroyd, Jones, and others, render
mr 817) 032, 790 was exacted, and he be-
came answerable, or to this eftect ; and
this rendering has generally been ap-
proved by such as hold the doctrine
of our Lord’s voluntary substitution.
It is, however, to say the least, very
doubtful whether such meaning can
fairly be brought out of the words.
It is certain none of the ancient trans-
lators understood them so; Symm.
προσηνάχθη καὶ αὐτὸς ὑπήκουσε; LXX.
καὶ αὐτὸς διὰ τὸ κεκακῶσθαι ; Syr.,

reading 22 instead of 93, “550

CHAP. LIII.]

ISAIAH.

401

As a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
Or as a sheep before her shearers is dumb,

So he opened not his mouth.

8 Without restraint, and without a sentence, he was taken away ;

Vv τν -
yasozio, accessit et humiliavit se;

Vulg. oblatus est quia ipse voluit. 2
signifies, indeed, fo press a debtor, to
extort service, &c. ; but uniformly with
the implication, that the debt or
service is obtained from the individual
against his will. The idea of tyran-
nical oppression is likewise conveyed
by the term, but manifestly in this
connexion can only be attributed to
the Jews, and not to any treatment
of the Son of God by his Heavenly
Father. Chap. lx. 17 forms no ex-
ception, Ὁ 23, exvactors, being there
qualified by the term ΠΣ, righteous-
ness. "The verb occurs in Niphal only
in three other passages; vz. 1 Sam.
xiii. 6, xiv. 24; Isa. ii. 5; in all of
which the idea of being distressed,
oppressed, &c. is obviously that which
is intended to be conveyed. In like
manner, though 72%, the other verb
here employed, signifies to respond,
answer, announce, &¢c., it nowhere con-
veys the notion of legal or moral
responsibility. This signification has
been transferred to it from the Latin,
ad diem respondere. I am, therefore,
compelled, on purely philological
grounds, to reject the rendering in
question, though I firmly believe the
doctrine which it teaches. To 72Y2 in
Niphal, I assign here, with Koppe,
Jahn, Steudel, Hengstenberg, and
Reinke, the reflexive signification, he
submitted himself. Such construction
is required by 81, preceding, and well
agrees with the following description
of the patience with which the Mes-
siah endured his sufferings. Thus
καὶ αὐτὸς ὑπήκουσε of Symm., and guia
ipse voluit of Jerome. Comp. John
x, 17, 185° Phil a.) 8.3, 7Hebis mith, 2;
1 Pet. 11. 23. ὙΒ MAD. XD, at the end of
the verse, is merely a repetition for
the sake of emphasis: only the ) in
8”) marks the apodosis. For the ful-
filment, see the history of our Lord’s
sufferings.

8. The prophet now reaches the

culminating point in his description
of the sufferings of the Messiah, viz.
the unjust death in which they ter-
minated. That ΠΣ is used of a re-
moval from among the living, see
Gen. v. 24, xlii. 36; 2 Kings ii. 9;
Jer. xv. 15; Ezek. xxiv. 16. ΝῺ is
similarly used, Job xxxii. 22; and
FON, Isa. Ivii. 1. Gesenius compares

the Arab. 38 ai} Gav. And that

such must be the signification of the
verb here is plain, from the latter
half of the verse. Perhaps no three
words in the Hebrew Bible have been
more variously rendered than Ww?
mp wpa; LXX. ἐν τῇ ταπεινώσει
(Just. Mar. and Chrysost. add αὐτοῦ)

π᾿

«δὸ

ν ρ ~
922} .; «90, 6 carcere et ex judi-

oO ΕΝ
ἡ κρίσις αὐτοῦ ἤρθη; ὅγν. ἰχοξα

cio raptus est ; Arab. ral ᾽ KK, judi-

cium ejus raptus est ; Vulg. De angustia,
et de judicio sublatus est ; Jewish Span.
de detenimiento y de juizio fue tomado ;
and thus generally the Rabbins, and
by Calvin, Gesenius, Hitzig, and
Scholz: only Calvin and others ex-
plain 779 of our Lord’s being taken
up to glory. Déderlein, Dathe, and
others, take Hawam WY to be a hen-
diadis, and translate, post angustias
judicitt ad suppliciam rapitur ; Lowth,
Tingstadius, and Jones, fy an oppres-
sive judgment he was taken off. By
another class of interpreters the pre-
position 79 is taken in its negative or
privative acceptation: Zwinglius, iz-
dicta causa citraque judicium tolletur ;
Leo Juda, Absque dilatione citraque
judicium vaptus est ; Coverdale, He shal
be had awaie, his cause not herd, and
without any judgement; Luzzatto, On
Pemportait (on le tuait) sans autorité
souveraine, et sans justice, Cest-a-dire :
on pouvait le tuer impunément. This
construction seems preferable to any
other ; only 1? is to be taken in its

402

ISATAH.

[CHAP. 1111.

And who can describe his generation ?
For he was cut off from the land of the living ;
On account of the transgression of my people he was smitten.

usual signification, restraint, hindrance,
and ΒΡ in that of sentence, judicial
sentence. Instead of restraining the
Jews from carrying into effect their
murderous purpose against our Lord,
Pilate “delivered” him “to their
will.” Luke xxiii, 25. Nor as pro-
curator, occupying the judgment-seat,
Matt. xxvii. 19, did he pronounce a
formal sentence upon him, but merely
decided (éméxpwe) that it should be
as the Jews required, Luke xxiii. 24.
WP Ὁ is used Judges xviii. 7, to
express the office and authority of a
magistrate, exercised in restraining
from the commission of lawless
deeds.—Of the different interpreta-
tions that have been given of “ἦτ,
generation, such as eternal production ;
length of life; manner of life; pos-
terity ; men living at the same time ; the
last alone is justifiable on the ground
of Hebrew usage. It only signifies
posterity when used in the plural,
and even then only such of a poste-
rity as are contemporaries. LXX.

γενεὰ ; Saad. >, corresponding to

the use of ἦτ, Gen. vii. 1 ; Eccles i. 4.
Storr, Déderlein, Dathe, Rosenmiiller,
Gesenius, and others, take ‘i7nx,
though the accusative, to be equiva-
lent to the nominative absolute, and
render, Who of his contemporaries con-
sidered that he was, &c.; but such con-
struction is not so natural as that
which regards it as strictly the accu-
sative absolute, “And as to the men
of his time, who can conceive of
them?” 1.6. their atrocious wicked-
ness. The verb m2, of which mi» is
the Pilel, signifies 70 conceive in the
mind, meditate, and then to give utter-
ance to such conceptions ; LXX. διη-
ynoera. The best comment on the
words is furnished by the testimony
of Josephus, de Bell. Jud. lib. v. cap.
13, sect. 6. Οἶμαι ‘Popaidy βραδυνόν-
τῶν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀλιτηρίους, ἢ καταποθῆναι
ἂν ὑπὸ χάσματος, ἢ κατακλυσθῆναι τὴν
πόλιν, ἢ τοὺς τῆς Σοδομηνῆς μεταλαβεῖν
κηραυτοῦς" πολὺ γὰρ τῶν ταῦτα παθόν-

των ἤνεγκε ΓΈΝΕΑΝ ἀθεωτέραν. “I
deem it, that if the Romans had de-
layed to come against these wretches,
the city would have been swallowed
up by an earthquake, or overwhelmed
by a deluge, or experienced the same
fate with Sodom: for it bore a more
impious GENERATION than those which
suffered such things.” And again,
cap. x. sect. 5. μήτε TENEAN ἐξ αἰῶνος
γεγονέναι κακίας γονιμωτέραν. “Nor
was there ever from the beginning of
the world A GENERATION more prolific
in wickedness.” Comp. Matt. xii. 39,
xxiii. 33; Luke xi. 48—51. ὋΣ, Arab.

25» occidit, to cut, cut off, slay, kill,

expresses the violent death of the
Messiah. Comp. Dan. ix. 26, where
ΤῊ is similarly used. Ps. Ixxxviii. 6;
Lam. 111. 54. The pronom. affix in Ὅν,
refers to the prophet, who, as fre-
quently, includes himself among the ,
people. For in} the LXX. have read |
ny, εἰς θάνατον, smitten unto death. ὦ
Thus also the versions which have ἡ
been made from the LXX.; but the
reading is confirmed by no Heb. MS.,
and by no other independent autho-
rity. On the contrary, Symm.,
Theod., the Targ., Syr., and Jerome,
all express the pronoun. And _ that
the two first so translated, clearly
proves that nyo? was not the reading
of the text in the time of Origen, as
Kennicott, in Lowth, contends. In
the dispute of that father with the
Jews, the argument did not turn upon
the rendering of this particular word,
but upon ὍΣ, τοῦ λαοῦ pov, my people,
from whom the person spoken of
is evidently distinguished. On this
being urged, the Jew who had objected
that it was not one man, but one
people that was meant, was silenced,
Orig. con, Celsum, lib. i. p, 370, edit.
1733. The proposed emendation is,
therefore, justly rejected by Gesenius,
Hitzig, Scholz, and other moderns. It
is contended by Gesenius and others
that in 19%, the poetical suffix is
plural and not singular; but the’

CHAP. 1.111.}

ISAIAH.

403

9 They had also assigned him his grave with the wicked,
But he was with the rich after his death :
Because he had done no violence,
Neither was deceit found in his mouth.

latter alone suits the context, and is
decidedly to be so taken, chap. xliv.
15, where it refers to 908, and is con-
_ verted into 19, ver. 17. See also Gen.
ix. 26, 27; and comp. Job xx. 23,
xxii. 2, xxvii. 23, for a similar use of
jo%y in the singular. In the last of
these passages the form is irhmedi-
ately changed into vv. Thus the
Syr. and Vulg.

9. 15, lit. and he gave, i.e. destined,
appointed, assigned ; but this form of
the verb is very often used imperson-
ally, as in the German, Man gab; or
the French, Oz avait ordonné ; and is
best rendered by an English plural.
The meaning is, that our Saviour was
destined by the Jews to have the
ignoble burial of those who under-
went capital punishment. Ὃ δὲ βλασ-
φημήσας Θεὸν καταλευσθεὶς κρεμάσθω
Ov ἡμέρας, καὶ ἀτίμως καὶ ἀφανῶς θαπ-
τέσθω. “ Let him who blasphemes
God be stoned and hanged for a day,
and have a disgraceful and obscure
burial.” Josephus, Antiq. iv. 8. 6.
See also Iken. in Bib]. Hagana, ii. p.
215. nx before DY is not the sign
of the accusative, as it has been
taken by the LXX., Symm., Vulg,,
and Targ., but is used as a preposition
in the sense of with. Thus Saad.

od opel te Jex>s, and so

Gesenius, Hitzig, and other moderns,
confirming thereceived interpretation.
Even Rosenmiller falls in with it, in
the last edition of his Scholia. Several
interpreters, among whom Luther,
Calvin, Rosenmiiller, Gesenius, Hitzig,
Maurer, take Vey to be parallel with
Dyw, and give to it the signification
of impious, ungodly, or the like ; mostly
on the ground that riches are fre-
quently the source of pride, arrogance,
and wickedness. This transition of
meaning, however, Hitzig scruples not
to designate a fiction, and has re-
course, with Martini and Koppe, to

the Arab. ye , to stumble, take a wrong

step, &c.; but neither this verb, nor
any of its derivatives, appear ever to
have been used in the sense of crimin-
ality. In the Hebrew Bible vey uni-
formly signifies rich, and it depends
upon the circumstances of the con-
text what character is to be attached
to the individual thus designated.

Saad. ppdtund | 92 cum opulentis ;

Jewish Span. coz rico. In vay ny) the
Ὑ is adversative, and the subst. verb.
m1 is to be supplied. That Joseph of
Arimathea is meant no one can doubt
who impartially compares the gospel
history. Matt. xxvii, 57—61. yn103,
Abenezra, Forerius, Ccolampadius,
Zwinglius, Schindler, Drusius, Kenni-
cott, Lowth, Jubb, Kuinoel, Martini,
Moller, Jenour, Noyes, and others,
render, iz his sepulchre—taking the 2
to be radical, and the noun to be the
plural construct of 793, a high place:
—and attaching to it the idea of ἐω-
mulus. From no other passage, how-
ever, can it be shewn, that ni02mean
tumuli, or sepulchral mounds. On the
contrary, they always mean either
heights in general, or specifically the
high places so frequently mentioned in
the O. T., where idolatrous worship
was performed. Ezek. xliii. 7, forms
no exception; for the connexion there
requires us to point Onin2, iz or afler
their death, which some of De Rossi’s
MSS. exhibit. It is also the punctua-
tion of the Sone. Edition, and is con-
firmed by the rendering of the Tar-
gum. Wherever nin: takes the suffix,
it retains the Kametz, as Lev. xxvi.
30; Isa. xxxvi. 7. I, therefore, adhere
to the interpretation of the LXX.,
Targ. Syr., Vulg., and most modern
versions, a8 those of Vitringa, Micha-
elis, Rosenmiiller, Tingstadius, Dathe,
Gesenius, Hitzig, Hengstenberg, Ewald,
Reinke, Scholz, Jones, &c., according
to which 3 is the preposition, and yn
the regular plural of m2, death, with
the pronom. suffix. We find the plural
used Ezek. xxviii. 10, to express a

404

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. LIII.

10 But Jehovah was pleased to bruise him; he put him to grief:
Verily, if he make himself a sacrifice for sin,
He shall see his seed, he shall live long,
And the pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand.

violent death, or as Jarchi explains it,
nya Ὁ 75, all kinds of death. 1t is thus
intensive in force, and expresses the
awful nature of that death to which
our Lord submitted. 3,1 have ren-
dered after, on the authority of Lev.
xi. 31; 1 Kings xiii. 31 ; Esther ii. 7,
where the preposition has this mean-
ing before the Infin. of nm. Comp.
other passages in Noldius. The mean-
ing is, that on his death, and while he
remained in a state of death, his body
was with, or in the tomb of, a rich
man. ἢ following, satisfactorily shews
that the two preceding hemistichs
form an antithesis, and that it is to
be restricted to the latter of them ;
for there would be no propriety in as-
signing the innocence of the Messiah
as the cause why he was ignominiously
treated by his enemies. The conjec-
ture of Le Clerc, which Kennicott
adopts, that 27 and "103 have changed
places, is totally unsupported.

10. The Conjun. in 77 is resumptive
and confirmatory, connecting what fol-
lows with 7i™, ver.6. Whatever hand
man might have in the death of the
Redeemer, it was, nevertheless, the
result of the gracious purpose of God.
Comp. Acts il, 23. 27 Isat refer back
to m2 and 8279, ver. 5. 7 is an
Aramaic form for 7777, the Hiph. of
mn, to be in pain, suffer grief, &e. Dx,
if, so far from being here a particle of
doubt, rather expresses the certainty
of what is affirmed; only the state-
ment is put hypothetically, for the
purpose of laying down the condition
of the following predictions respecting
the success of the Messiah’s under-
taking. It forms the point of transi-
tion from the use of the Preterite to
that of the Future tense. His sacri-
fice was still future, but it should cer-
tainly be presented, and issue in the
specified results. In such cases, D8 has
all the native force of its derivation

from j2x, Arab. ul, which convey the

idea of firmness, security, certainty, &c.
Whether own be the second person
masculine, or the third feminine, (both
being alike in form,) has been dis-
puted. To the former mode of con-
struction, it cannot fairly be objected
that it would occasion too violent a
change of person, since many such
abrupt changes occur in the prophets.
And, as such a degree of prominence
had just been given to the act of
the Father in bruising the Son, there
might, to the mind of a Hebrew, ap-
pear a singular propriety in the mo-
mentary adoption of the direct form
of address. Still, it seems more in
accordance with the usual reciprocal
force of 152, his soul, for himself, and
especially as occurring immediately
after, ver. 12, to take the verb as the
third feminine, agreeing with Ὁ Ὲ).--- Ὁ Ὁ
is used intransitively, as in 1 Kings |
xx. 12; so that the literal rendering
of νῦ8) ove DA DX will be, Truly if
his soul make itself a sacrifice for guilt;
i.e. if he lay down his life as a propi-
tiatory sacrifice. Comp. παρέδωκεν
‘EAYTON ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν προσφορὰν καὶ
θυσίαν, Eph. v. 2. Comp. also Matt.
xx. 28; Gal. i. 4; Heb. ix. 14. The
doctrine taught in these passages, and
in our text, is that of our Lord’s
voluntary substitution of himself as a
victim to expiate human guilt. Be-
tween DWX and nxen there is no fur-
ther difference, than that the latter
relates to the sinful act, considered
simply in itself: the former to its
guilt as affecting the individual, in the
way of exposing him to punishment.
This liability the Messiah took upon
himself, and actually endured the
punishment due to others. Both
terms are sacrificial, and are fre-
quently used in the Levitical law.
The “seed” of the Messiah are such
as should believe in him, being born
again through the instrumentality of
his Gospel, James i. 18; 1 Pet. i. 23,
25. In the East, Christians are called

CHAP. LIII. |

ISAIAH.

405

11 After the sorrow of his soul, he shall see it, and be satisfied ;
By the knowledge of himself shall my Righteous Servant

justify many ;

For he shall bear their iniquities.

ἐπ Ovo, the family of the Messiah.

Comp. Ps. xxii. 30. The LXX., Vulg.,
and some moderns, among whom
Lowth, connect D> JS with yy, and
render, a long-lived posterity, or a seed
which shall prolong their days ; but the
construction which refers both verbs
to a common subject, viz. the Messiah,
is more appropriate. It is the con-
structio asyndeta. Thus the Syr.,
Vitringa, Déderlein, Dathe, Hensler,
Tingstadius, van der Palm, Rosenmiil-
ler, Gesenius, Hitzig, Hengstenberg,
Reinke, Scholz, and Jenour. Comp.
Ps. Ixxii. 15 ; Heb. vii. 16, 25 ; Rev. i.
18. 77 yh means not simply the
cause of Jehovah, as Gesenius inter-
prets, but such cause as that in which
Jehovah takes peculiar delight. Like
εὐδοκία in the N. T., it implies special
good-will, or favour. The term seems
to have been selected here to corres-
pond with ye 7m at the beginning of
the verse. 173, iz his hand, i.e. through
his instrumentality.

. 11. The prophet prosecutes the idea
of the reward to be enjoyed by the
Messiah, as the result of his painful
sufferings. The verb 781 cannot be
construed with }2 in the sense of seeing
of, 1. 6. “ the fruit of,” which our com-
mon version expresses. Such con-
struction would imply that only a
part or portion should be seen. The
preposition is rather used in the sense
of after, from the tinie of, as in Ps. lxxiii.
20, ya DYT2, “as a dream after one
awakes.” 'The prophets predicted the
sufferings of Christ, and the glory ¢hat
should follow, 1 Pet.i.11. ὋΝ signifies
labour, toil, sorrow, travail, &c., but has
no reference whatever to the sorrows
of childbirth, as some have explained
the term ¢ravail in our common ver-

sion. Arab. ὡ,., Jecit, operatus fuit.

Hence the fatigue, exhaustion, &c.,
resulting from manual labour. The
object to WY, he shall see, is YU, seed,

in the preceding verse; so that we
have here another instance of re-
sumptive prediction, Y2w! TNT is again
the constructio asyndeta, as in ver. 10.
The latter verb signifies to have abun-
dance, to be supplied to the full, and
expresses the immense number of
converts whom it would be the Re-
deemer’s joy to contemplate. inv, his
knowledge, is the genitive of object:
the knowledge which respects the
Messiah; a spiritual acquaintance
with him and his propitiatory suffer-
ings just described. In "iv PY, my
righteous servant, the adjective is placed
first, for the sake of emphasis, in
order that the idea of righteousness,
expressed, by the preceding verb, 71,
might be more prominently exhibited.
See on chap. xxviii. 21. The charge
of solecism, therefore, brought for-
ward by Lowth, is without foundation.
That the righteousness intended is
the meritorious righteousness of
Christ, on account of which sinners
obtain the pardon of sin, and the
consequent blessings of salvation,
must be evident to all who are fami-
liar with the Scripture use of the
terms, PAST, WI, δικαιόω, δικαιοσύνη,
δίκαιος, in connexion with the execu-
tion of the scheme of mercy. See
chap. xlv. 24; Jer. xxiii. 6; Acts xiii.
38, 39; Rom. iii. 21—28, iv. 5—8, 25,
v. 16—19; 2 Cor. v. 21; Phil. iii. 9.
The context abundantly shews that
the verb p27 is used in the forensic
sense, and not in that of moral im-
provement. 27727 is unique, but
seems designed to teach the actual
communication of the blessing of jus-
tification to such as believe. Comp.
2777, chap. xiv. 3; 217, Gen. xlv.
7. Jin ony is causal, assigning the
reason why the Messiah was qualified
to impart righteousness or justification
to sinners—his having suffered the
punishment due to their guilt. For
the signification of 520, see on ver. 4.

=+)

3E

406

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. LIII.

12 Therefore, I will divide for him a portion among the great;
And with the strong he shall divide the spoil ;
Because he poured out his soul unto death,
And was numbered with transgressors,

12. In this verse the reward of the
Messiah is more distinctly announced
in metaphors borrowed from the
ancient military life, in which a vic-
torious general had conferred upon
him, by his monarch, the spoils which
he had won, and again distributed
them among the soldiers. He was to
have a glorious triumph as a compen-
sation for the sufferings which he
should endure. After i>pins, J will
divide to him, 7, his portion, is under-
stood. The LXX., Vulg., followed by
the Fathers, and, among the moderns,
by Hensler, Lowth, Martini, Dathe,
Boothroyd, Hengstenberg, Reinke, and
Jones, render O32 and D'nzY ΤΙΝ as ac-
cusatives, and thus represent the
great and mighty as constituting the
spoil given to our Lord. But the
more natural construction of the
words is that given in our common
version,—3 being rendered wmong, and
Mx, with. That the latter is properly
so rendered, is clear from the parallel
use of this particle as a prepos., Prov.
xvi. 19: 908 pom ony ow 31
ΝΣ, “It is better to be of a lowly
spirit with the humble, than fo divide
the spoil with the proud.” Comp.
OPLEDY, “with transgressors,” in this
very verse, and Drwrny, “with the

wicked,” ver. 9. And, to satisfy the.

law of parallelism, 3 must be suffered
to retain its usual signification of with,
among, or such like. This construc-
tion is accordingly approved by Leo
Juda, Castalio, Calvin, Hezel, Rosen-
miiller, Gesenius, Riickert, Hitzig,
Noyes, and Scholz, as the more philo-
logically correct. The meaning thus
brought out is, that, as the great and
mighty have extended their conquests
in the world, and brought home abun-
dance of spoil, to be distributed ac-
cording to custom, so the Messiah,
having gained the victory in the infi-
nitely important spiritual conflict in
which he was to engage, should not
be behind them, but should receive a

reward suitable to the conquest he
was to gain; and likewise, on his
part, bestow rewards on his followers.
Comp. Luke xxii. 29; John xvii. 22 ;
Rey. iii. 21. The reading p30 instead
of γῆν, found in one of De Rossi’s
MSS., and supported by the LXX.
and Arab., has in all probability origi-
nated in a desire to introduce unifor-
mity into this part of the verse-—The
prophet is so full of the amazing love
of the Messiah in laying down his life
for transgressors, that though by using
the causal particle 133, se ee at the
beginning of the verse, he had shewn
that his sufferings previously specified
constituted the ground of his reward,
yet he once more resumes the subject,
which he introduces with the empha-
tic Wx nA, eo quod, pro co quod, in re-
ward for. The words, 105) nyo? My,
forcibly express the voluntary and un-
reserved exposure to death, to which
our Lord submitted in our room. 9,

Arab. sy signifies to be bare, naked,

&e.; in’ Piel and Hiph. to make bare,
empty, pour out. It occurs in the for-
mer of these conjugations, Ps. exli. 8,
»0D) ym bs, “Suffer not my soul to be
poured out,” z.e. by the enemy. "1%,
to blast, make bare, is similarly used
Judg. v. 18, min? Wwe) FT OY, “a people
that exposed their soul to die,’ LXX.
eis θάνατον, ΓΛ), to death. The Arabs

γῈ13
employ the phrases du23 Cla, effudit
animam suam, in the same sense.
Comp. Phil. ii. 7, ἑαυτὸν "EKENQZE,
“he emptied himself.” 322 is an in-
stance of the imperfect or indefinite
future, intimating that the interces-
sion of the Messiah was not to bea
transient act, or such an act as would
be completed at the time of his death,
but that it would consist in an action
continuously carried on in future
time. For the fulfilment, see Luke
xxiii. 34; Rom. viii. 34; Heb. vii. 25 ;
1 John ii. 1. For the general signifi-

CHAP. 110.]

And bare the sin of many,

ISATAH.

407

And made intercession for the transgressors.

cation of 28, see on chap. xlvii. 3, and
liii. 6. As used here in Hiphil with 3,
it means, fo present the cause of another,
to use one’s influence for his benefit.

So manifestly is the doctrine of
atonement taught in this important
section of the prophet, that Gesenius
himself is compelled to acknowledge
it in the following terms: “Most

Hebrew readers, who were previously
familiar with the ideas of sacrifice and
substitution, must necessarily have
taken this view of the passage ; and
it cannot be doubted, that the apo-
stolic representation of the death of
Christ as an atonement pre-eminently
rests upon this basis.” Comment, il,
Theil. p. 191.

CHAPTER LIV.

Having finished his description of the sufferings and triumphs of the Messiah,
the prophet resumes his address to the church of God, which he had called
to depart from Babylon, chap. lii. 11 ; but modifies it, in accordance with
those views into the distant future with which he was favoured by the
Spirit of prophecy. He sets out by predicting the amazing increase of the
church after her restoration to the land of Judea, 1; and the extension of
her boundaries into the desolate regions of paganism, 2—5. Grounds of
encouragement are then drawn from the Divine love and faithfulness, 6—
10; and assurances are given of her future glory, security, and happiness,
11—17. Some consider the chapter to be exclusively applicable to the
Jews, as a people ; but the interpretation put upon ver. 1, by the Apostle,
Gal. iv. 27, and the facts of history, militate against such application.
Though Isaiah does not lose sight of that people as originally constituting
the church, yet, having his eye upon the spiritual seed of the Messiah, to
be chiefly collected from the heathen world, he merges for the time the
peculiar interests of Judaism in those of the universal church.

1 Srye, O barren! that didst not bear ;
Burst into song, and shout, thou that wast not in travail!

1. It is not the state of the Gentile
world that is here contrasted with
that of the Jews, but the desolate or
widowed condition of the latter, con-
trasted with their happy state before
their divorce at the captivity. By the
moniwn2, the children of the desolate, are

meant the members of the church
which had been desolate during that
captivity, but was now viewed as
flourishing under the reign of the
Messiah. The prophet had already
predicted the vast increase of the Jew-
ish people, chap. xlix. 18—22. This

408

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. LIY.

For more are the children of the desolate,
Than the children of the married wife, saith Jehovah.

2 Hnlarge the place of thy tent ;

Yea, stretch out the cords of thy dwellings ; spare not ;
Lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes.
3 For thou shalt break forth to the right and to the left ;
Thy seed also shall inherit the nations,
And shall people the desolate cities.
4 Fear not, for thou shalt not be ashamed ;
Neither be confounded, for thou shalt not be put to shame ;
For thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth ;
And the reproach of thy widowhood thou shalt remember no

more.

5 For thy Maker is thy husband ;

Jehovah of Hosts is his name ;

he here repeats, with special reference
to the spiritual church. In the apo-
stolic age numerous myriads (πόσαι
μυριάδες, Acts xxi. 20) of Jews believed
in Jesus as the Messiah, while the
number of Gentile converts exceeded
all calculation. To the Christian com-
munity, composed of both, the Apo-
stle obviously applies the words, Gal.
iv. 26, 27, where he contrasts the
literal Jerusalem—the representative
of such of the Jews as continued in
unbelief—with the spiritual Jerusa-
lem, or Christian church, the mother
of all believers, whether from among
Jews or Gentiles. That the Rabbins
considered the passage to havea bear-
ing on the times of the Messiah, see
Midrash Shir Hashirim ad Cant. i. 5.
2, 3. This beautiful metaphor is
taken from the pastoral life, which, in
the East, renders movable habitations
absolutely necessary. The Orientals
have two kinds of tents, the one
larger, and the other smaller; but
both constructed much in the same
way. ‘They are sustained by poles,
more or fewer in number, according to
the size of the tent, but the tallest is
always in the midst ; while the others
suspend the covering round the sides.
This covering is made of a stuff woven
from wool and camel’s hair ; it hangs
down like a curtain over the side-
poles, and is fastened by cords to

wooden pegs, which are firmly driven
into the ground. Other cords, fastened
at the one end to the tops of the
poles, and at the other to pegs or
stakes, keep the tent steady, and se-
cure it against the violence of storms.
As the family increases, it is pro-
portionally enlarged, and requires the
cords to be longer, and the stakes to
be stronger in proportion. By “ΠΝ,
tent, is meant the entire habitation ;
by niz2u02, divellings, the different com-
partments into which it was divided
by the smaller curtains suspended
from the roof. ™™ is future, but de-
rives an imperative force from the
preceding ’2177.—The future members
of the church should occupy the
localities formerly possessed by idola-
ters, and characterised by spiritual
desolation. Comp. chap. xlix. 8.

4, The youth of the Jewish Church
was the period of her servitude in
Egypt ; her widowhood, that of the
captivity in Babylon. Comp. Jer. ii.
2; Ezek. xvi. 22 ; Jer. li. 5, jo; Lam.
ae.

5. Jehovah, to whom the church
owed her existence, was still, and
would continue to be, her husband, in
communion with whom she might
reckon on the enjoyment of her
matrimonial privileges. Comp. John
iii, 29; Rom. vii. 4; 2 Cor. xi. 2;
Eph. v, 23—33. Instead, however, of

CHAP. 110.]

ISATAH.

409

And thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel :
The God of the whole earth he shall be called.
6 For Jehovah hath called thee as a forsaken, spirit-broken

female ;

And as a wife of youth, though thou wast rejected,

Saith thy God.

7 For a smail moment have I forsaken thee,
But with the greatest tenderness I will gather thee.

8 Inan outpouring of wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment ;
But with everlasting kindness I will be merciful to thee,

Saith thy Redeemer, Jehovah.

9 For this is to me as the waters of Noah ;
As I swore that the waters of Noah should not again overflow

the earth,

So have I sworn, that I will not be angry with thee, nor rebuke

thee.
10

Though the mountains should be removed,

And the hills should be shaken,

sustaining this relation to her, as
composed of Jews only, and occupying
the contracted territory of Canaan, he
was to sustain it to all, throughout
the world, who should enter her pale.
Comp. Zech. xiv. 9 ; Mal. i. 11; John
xi. 52; Acts xv. 14—17; Rom. iii. 29.
53 and δον are plurals after the
model of ox. The latter occurs
again Ps. cxlix. 2; LXX. Κύριος ὁ
ποιῶν oe. For the idiomatic force of
N17, see on chap, 1. 26.

6. Mark the paronomasia in 722
and mnzy. By ony) nex, a wife of
youth, is meant one who is married to
a person in his youth, to whom his
affection may be expected to be strong.
Such was the affection of God towards
his people, notwithstanding the for-
lorn condition to which they had been
reduced. Though they had been re-
jected, they were to be again received
into favour.

7, 8. The period of the Babylonish
captivity, and that of the gospel dis-
pensation, are here contrasted. Not
only should the church be restored,
but she should enjoy the highest
felicity in the everlasting favour of
her God. Such a state might consist
with outward afflictions in the kingdom

of heaven, Mark x. 30; John xvi. 33 ;
I Thessti, δι; ΕΘ. ΧΑ: ΤΕ τ, Or
how ill soever these might accord with
the principles of the ancient theocracy.
AER ΣΦ form a paronomasia, The
former term is a ἅπαξ )ey., but ob-
viously synonymous with ἢ, Comp.

Prov. xxvii. 4; and the Arab. ks,

dura et angusta fuit vita; hardship,
adversity, &¢.—the effect, of which the
cause is expressed by the Hebrew.

9. There is an ellipsis of 3 before
the former 2, just as there is before
wx, Inattention to this circumstance,
which is of common occurrence, has
led Symm., Theod., the Syr., Vulg.,
Targ., and Saad., to unite 2 °D so as
to form one word, "2; reading δ᾽", day,
in the plural, instead of 0, waters.
To the same cause is doubtless to be
ascribed the occurrence of "22 in some
few MSS. The conjunction 3 could not
have been omitted. Nv, ¢is calamity.
Gen. viii. 21 ; ix. 11.

10. ὃ 3, my covenant of peace,
i.e. the new covenant which I am
about to make with you, by which
I guarantee to you reconciliation and
spiritual prosperity. Comp. chap. 111.
5, liv. 18 ; Ezek. xxxiv. 25, xxxvii, 26 ;

410

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. LIV.

Yet my lovingkindness shall not be removed from thee,
Nor shall my covenant of peace be shaken,
Saith Jehovah, that sheweth thee mercy.

11

O thou afflicted ! storm-tossed, unconsoled !

Behold! I will lay thy stones in stibium,
And will found thee with sapphires.

12

I will also make thy battlements of rubies,

And thy gates of sparkling gems;
And all thy borders of precious stones.

13

All thy children likewise shall be taught by Jehovah ;

And great shall be the peace of thy children.

14

Thou shalt be established in righteousness ;

Thou shalt be far from oppression,

For thou shalt not fear ;
And from terror,

For it shall not come near thee.

Zech. vi. 13. The phrase seems to
have been suggested by the reference
made in the preceding verse to the
Divine engagement to Noah, which
God calls his πὴ, Gen. ix.9,11. That
these promises cannot apply to the
past history of the Jews as a nation,
is evident from the fact of their
present dispersion, which has con-
tinued nearly eighteen centuries.

11, 12. I now adopt Alexander’s ren-
dering of MD, as being at once more
literal and also more forcible. On
this verse Lowth aptly remarks, that
these seem to be general images to
express beauty, magnificence, purity,
strength, and solidity, agreeably to
the ideas of the Eastern nations, and
to have never been intended to be
strictly scrutinized, or minutely and
particularly explained, as if each of
them had some precise moral or spi-
ritual meaning. A similarly splendid
description of the happy state of the
millennial church is found Rev. xxi.
18—21. Ἢ, stibivm, or antimony, in

Arab.

compounded of lead and zinc, and
moistened with oil or vinegar, with
which the Oriental females paint the
edges of the eye-lids, thereby giving
them a black colour, and so apparently
enlarging the eyes, as to render their

, a fine mineral powder,

effect more powerful. The prophet
compares the cement to this black
compound, to intimate that the beauty
of the stones would thereby be aug-
mented. See for the word, 2 Kings
ix. 30; 1 ‘Chron. xxix. 2'; Jer. iv: 30.
By nvwow, LXX. ἐπάλξεις, parapets, or
notched battlements, but why so called
it is difficult to say, except it be that
they admitted the rays of the sun.
Lit. suns.

13. The former half of this verse
our Lord quotes in proof of the
necessity of Divine teaching, John
γἱ. 45. TMD) lit. disciples of Jehovah.
Comp. chap. viii. 16; Jer. xxxi. 34;
Heb. viii. 11 ; and θεοδίδακτοί, 1 Thess.
iv. 9. By which is meant not merely,
or chiefly, the teaching of God by
the precepts of the Gospel, but that
Divine teaching by the Hoty Spirit,
whereby not so much the intellect is
enlightened, as thé heart is touched,
and the affections swayed. Bloom-
field, iz loc. See also 1 John ii. 27.
For the latter half of the verse, comp.
John xiv. 27, and Phil. iv. YB ἡ εἰρήνη
τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡ ὑπερέχουσα πάντα νοῦν.

14, ‘7m, be far, has here the power
of the fature, from the preceding
verb, Since the New Testament
church has been the subject of awful
oppressions, this prophecy must have
special reference to the millennial

CHAP. LY.]

ISAIAH.

411

15 If they at all assemble, it is not from me ;
Whoever may assemble against thee shall fall away to thee.
16 Behold! I create the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire ;
And bringeth out the instrument for his work ;
I also create the spoiler to destroy.
17 No instrument formed against thee shall prosper ;
And thou shalt condemn every tongue that riseth up in

judgment with thee.

This is the inheritance of the servants of Jehovah ;
And their righteousness is from me, saith Jehovah.

\

state. Comp. Rev. xxi. and xxii, in
the latter of which chapters we have
a sublime symbolical description,
which may be regarded as an ampli-
fication of verses 11 and 12.

15. The meaning of this verse is,
that whatever enemies might assault
the church, they were not to be viewed
as commissioned by God to execute
wrath upon her, as the Assyrians and
Babylonians had been, and conse-
quently should not succeed in their
attempts to remove her. At Ὃν" 7a
subaud. Vs, the enemy. JI is not used
here as an interjection, but as a con-
ditional particle. Comp., for this
usage, Exod. vili. 22; Job xl 23.
‘MNd is a less usual, but by no means
a recent form, of ‘7x2. The verb %3,
followed by ἡ of the person, always
signifies 10. go over to another party ;

LXX. ἐπὶ σὲ καταφεύξονται ; Vulg.

adjungetur titi. How often have the

enemies of the saints been arrested in
their hostility, by a conviction that
they were fighting against God, laid
down their arms, and joined themselves
to those whom they persecuted !

16, 17. All creatures and instru-
ments being subordinate to the super-
intending agency of Divine providence,
the church is assured, that nothing
shall be permitted to transpire that
can inflict any real injury upon her.
Those who fabricate weapons, and
those who employ them, are equally in
the hand of God—the Maker of all.

The chapter concludes with a decla-
ration, that although such should be
the happy state of the servants of the
Lord, it was not to be the reward of
any merit in them, but the result of
his own free and undeserved favour.
To him they are indebted, both for the
righteousness of their character, and
the vindication of their privileges.

CHAPTER LV.

This chapter treats of the spiritual blessings to be enjoyed by the church as
restored from Babylon, and established under the reign of the Messiah. It
commences with an universal invitation to those who are spiritually
destitute to come and participate in the gratuitous provisions of the Gospel,
and a powerful appeal respecting the fruitlessness of every attempt to obtain
happiness from any other source, 1—3. The attention of mankind is then

412

ISATAH.

[CHAP. LY.

directed to the mediatorial appointment of the Messiah, and the extension
of his kingdom throughout the world, 4, 5. On this is based a series of
calls to the unconverted Jews to avail themselves of the Gospel as first
preached to them, with gracious assurances of pardon, 6—9. And after
a beautiful illustration of the certainty of the Divine word’s taking effect,
10, 11, the prophet returns to his captive people, and again predicts their
joyful deliverance, and happy return to their own land.

1 Ho! every one that thirsteth, come to the waters,
And he that hath no money, come, procure and eat ;
Yea, come, procure wine and milk,

Without money and without price.

2 Why do ye give your money for what is not bread?
And your toil for that which satisfieth not ?
Hearken attentively to me, and eat what is good,
And your soul shall delight itself in fatness.

3 Incline your ear, and come to me;

Hear, that your soul may live ;
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you,

The sure mercies of David.

1. The freeness, abundance, richness,
the pure, refreshing, and satisfactory
nature of gospel-blessings, are indi-
cated by the metaphors here employed.
Comp. chap. xii. 3, xxv. 6. The Targ.
limits the tense to instruction ; but
this is only the medium through which
men are brought into the enjoyment of
these blessings. ‘Mihi vero dubium
non est quin Jesaias hisce nominibus
Aquarum, Lactis, Vini, Panis, omnia
comprehendat que δ spiritualem
vitam necessaria sunt.” Calvin.

2. WDD DW, lit. to weigh, weigh out
money, in reference to the custom of
weighing uncoined gold and silver
in mercantile transactions, which an-
ciently obtained, not only among the
Hebrews, but among other nations ;
and still obtains in Turkey, and other
parts of the East. Hence the terms
RD, shekel, ττῷ, Gerah, &e.

3. The DY ma, which God promises
to institute, is none other than the
mom ma, so fully described, Jer. xxxi.
31—34. Indeed, it is explained in
the words immediately following, ‘107

DONT NI, the sure benefits promised to
David; Arab. ἄδοί ΑἹ dd Suclye,

promissa Davidis veracia ; LXX. ra ὅσια
Δαυὶδ ta πιστὰ, which the Apostle
quotes, Acts xiii. 34, in order to shew
that Christ must necessarily have
risen to an immortal life. The phrase
τὴ ΡΠ, LXX. rd ἐλέη Δαυΐδ, occurs
again 2 Chron. vi. 42, as descriptive
of the promise which God made to
David of a Son who was to be raised
up to him after his death, 1 Chron.
xvii. 11 ; who was not only to be his
descendant, but the descendant of his
sons, ibid. ; and who was to reign over
a kingdom that was to endure to
perpetuity, vers. 12—14. Comp. Isa.
ix. 7; Luke i. 32, 33. That this pro-
mise, of which we have a full state-
ment 2 Sam. vii. 12—16, and 1 Chron.
xvii. 11—14, was altogether distinct
from that which respected Solomon,
1 Chron, xxii. 8—13, has been satis-
factorily shewn by Whiston, Pierce,
and Kennicott. It likewise forms the
subject of Ps. Ixxxix.; the title of

CHAP. LV.]

ISAIAH.

415

4 Behold! I have made him a Witness fo the people.
A Prince and Commander to the people.

5 Behold! thou shalt call nations which ἕπου Enewest not,
And nations which knew not thee shall rum ἔν thee ; :

Because of Jehovah thy God,

And because of the Holy One of Israel, who hath glonfied thee.
6 Seek ye Jehovah while he may be found:
Call ye upon him while he is near ;

which ἘΞ ΘΝ GP Te Oy I will sng
of the mercies of Jehorch for ever, ie

sach, sure and permanent.

4. As the promises are all Yea and
Amen im the Meszah, he ἔξ here D
troduced to view pers

F

i

F

ἢ,

ἔ

,
“8
A ἢ 5'

we

‘
Hl;
i

:
;
i
ἢ,
Ἵ

>
i
:
Aur

NT ἐν Rev. ἢ 5; ἀρχεγὰς, Acts
. T. ἄρχων, Rev. ὃς

NL15 ; Heb ἢ τὸ. The difference
im meaning between this

the Tas TSS2, Cemmenier, seems
to be, that by the former ᾿Ξ expressed
the Mea of suime before, a5 ἃ primce

ts. and Scholz, are of qpimen that
Sie Clisech si Seok Meio

is more natural ie refer the wank te
der is used contrary te the mage of

the when adtirexins the
acta Οὐ τος Egan ai
Messcks. Ghnm, SBS νὰ

414

ISATAH.

[CHAP. LY.

7 Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous his thoughts ;
And let him return to Jehovah, and he will be merciful to him ;
Even to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
Neither are your ways my ways, saith Jehovah.
9 For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So are my ways above your ways,
And my thoughts above your thoughts.

10

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,

And return not thither, but water the earth,
And cause it to bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater :

ll

So shall my word be, which goeth out of my mouth;
It shall not return to me void,

But shall effect that which I please,
And prosper in that for which I send it.

12
And be led out in peace ;

For ye shall go forth with joy,

The mountains and hills shall burst into song before you,
And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
18 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress ;

established among them, lest Jehovah
should withdraw his presence from
them and vouchsafe it to the Gentiles
only. While the latter pressed for-
ward with the utmost eagerness, it
behoved the former to repent, believe
the Gospel, and bring forth fruits
worthy of repentance. See, for a
similar argument, chap. 11. 2—5,

8, 9. Though men would not so act
towards each other, as it regards the
forgiveness of numerous and _ highly
aggravated offences, it was in perfect
accordance with the exalted charac-
ter of Jehovah, who “ delighteth in
mercy.” Before the former 1723, the
compound Ws, marking the protasis,
is omitted. Job vii.9; Ps. xlviii. 6;
Hos. xi. 2; furnish similar instances
of this ellipsis. Comp. for the sen-
timent, Ps. οἱ], 11.

11. By some, 727 has here been
taken in a personal sense, as desig-
nating the Logos, of whom, according

to such interpretation, Jehovah de-
clares, that he should not return to
heaven without accomplishing the
work which he had given him to do ;
but, as appears from the following
verse, it is rather to be understood of
the Divine mandate given to Cyrus
to liberate the captive Jews. Though
thus special, however, in the present
connexion, the declaration holds true
of the Divine word universally, Numb.
xxiii. 19.

12,13. The general meaning of these
verses is well given by Musculus:
* Quoniam, inquit, verbum hoe quod
egressus est ex ore Dei, sic erit efficax
suo tempore, ut sit vos ὃ Babylone
liberaturum, et in hance terram ves-
tram reducturum. Exibitis igitur ὃ
Babylone liberati, cum gaudio, et
deducimini cum pace: hoc est, pro-
speré, sine hostili infestatione, et
absque omni impedimento.” The 12th
verse exhibits a noble instance of

CHAP. 11. ISATAH.

And instead of the nettle shall come up the myrtle ;
And it shall become a name to Jehovah ; '
An everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

prosopopeeia; the most prominent
objects in nature being represented as
meeting the returning Jews with
exultant joy, or joining in acclama-
tions as they pass along.

“ Tpsi leetitia voces ad sidera jactant,

Intonsi montes: ips jam carmina
rupes,

Tpsa sonant arbusta.”—Virg. Eel. v.

To indicate their prosperous and
happy condition, nature is represented
as undergoing a complete change.

415
Comp. chap. xli. 18, 19. ΕΘ is of
doubtful signification: LXX., Aq.,

Theod., κονύζα, the inula viscosa ;
Symm. xvidn, the common nettle. Thus
also the Vulg.° wrtica, which I have
followed, as the root is, not impro-
bably, 772, 4o dura, with 72 appended,
from 18, calamity ; Sanscrit, pid, to
make sad, afflict.

The event should redound to the
glory of God, and be appealed to in
all future time as a signal instance of
his gracious interposition in behalf of
his people.

CHAPTER LVI.

The first eight verses of this chapter are intimately connected with the
subject of the preceding. The Jews are incited to cultivate those dispo-
sitions, and to exhibit that conduct which corresponded to the nature of
the dispensation about to be established, 1, 2; assurances and promises are
given to those who had been excluded from the commonwealth of Israel,
that they should be received to the full enjoyment of the richer privileges
of the Christian Church, 3—7; and a specific prediction is inserted
respecting the ingathering of the Gentiles generally, 8.

With the 9th verse a new subject begins, which is continued through the
three foll6wing chapters; vz. the character of the Jews and their rulers,
which brought down upon them the retributions of Divine providence.
The prophet had presented to his mental vision that character as developed
from his own time till after the final dispersion of the Jews’ by the
Romans. The different hostile powers by which they were to be oppressed
are first summoned to attack them, 9; and then the description of
character commences with a graphic picture of the ignorance, insensibility,
avarice, and voluptuousness of their ecclesiastical and civil rulers, 10—12.

1 Tus saith Jehovah :

Observe justice ; yea, practise righteousness ;

1, 2. The import of these verses is

Comp. Ps. I. 23; Mal. iv. 4, 5. As

essentially that of the message of during the exile, the Sabbath was the

John the Baptist, Matt. iii, 2, 8.

only part of the law which the Jews

410

ISATAH.

[CHAP. LVI.

Hor the coming of my salvation is near,
And the revelation of my righteousness.
2 Blessed is the man that doeth this ;
And the son of man that adhereth to it ;
Keeping the sabbath, without profaning it ;
And keeping his hand so as to do no evil.
3 Nor let the stranger, that joineth himself to Jehovah, say,
Jehovah hath utterly separated me from his people ;

Neither let the eunuch say,
Behold! 1 am a dry tree.

4 lor thus saith Jehovah to the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths,
And choose the things in which I delight,

Adhering to my covenant :

or

I will give them in my house, and within my walls,

A memorial and a name better than sons and daughters ;

I will give to each an everlasting name,

That shall not be cut off.

had it in their power to keep, in so
far as external observances were con-
cerned, particular stress is laid upon
its celebration; but with a directly
implied reference to future times. It
is also worthy of special notice, that
the observance of the. day of rest is
here placed on a level with the per-
formance of moral duties :—a circum-
stance which exactly tallies with the
place assigned to it in the decalogue.
msi and ΠΡ are anticipative of the
duties afterwards mentioned in the
verse,

3. These two classes are selected to
serve aS a specimen of the whole
Gentile world. They had been ex-
pressly ‘excluded from the congrega-
tion of the Hebrews, Deut. xxiii. 1—8.
And even such converts as were after-
wards received by the Jews, under
the designation of P1873, proselytes of
righteousness, were never cordially re-
garded by them, but, on the contrary,
were held to be the canker and rust
of Israel. Such distinctions were all
to be done away. The phrase, “a
dry tree,” is still used in the East of
a person of either sex who has no
children.

4. The covenant referred to here
an ver. 6, is doubtless the everlasting,

or New Covenant, the establishment
of which is promised, chap. lv. 3.

5. 2, hand, is here used in the sense
of monument or memorial; that by
which the knowledge of the character
or actions of any one is transmitted
to future generations. The eunuchs
might have nothing within the pre-
cincts of the Jewish temple to per-
petuate their memory: they night
have no “name” on the genealogical
tables of the Jews; but the want of
these would be amply compensated,
by the everlasting privileges which
they should enjoy as sons and citizens
in the New Jerusalem. Michaelis has
here an ingenious reference to the
Ethiopian eunuch, who is immor-
talized by a monument and a name,
Acts viii. far above any celebrity that
could have accrued to him from sons
and daughters. Gesenius, and some
other expositors, prefer the accepta-
tion portion, to that of monument, but
Dw, zwme, being mentioned in imme-
diate connexion with it, proves that

-it means the latter, as that on which

the name was inscribed. Comp. 1
Sam. xv. 12; 2 Sam. viii. 13. 1 is to
be taken collectively, as frequently
after a plural.

CHAP. LVI. |

_ISATAH.

417

6 And as for the strangers that join themselves to Jehovah,

to serve him,

And to love the name of Jehovah, becoming his servants ;
All that keep the sabbath, without profaning it,

Adhering to my covenant:

7 I will bring them to my holy mountain,
And make them joyful in my house of prayer:
Their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted on

my altar;

For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all people.

8 The Lord Jehovah saith!

He that collecteth the dispersed of Israel :

Τ will collect to him others,

In addition to those of his that are collected.
9 All ye beasts of the field, come ;
All ye beasts of the forest, come to devour!
10 His watchmen are blind; they are all without knowledge ;

7. The language of this verse is
obviously metaphorical, since it de-
seribes privileges to be enjoyed after
Jerusalem, and the temple, with all
its ritual observances, had been de-
stroyed. It is borrowed from scenes
and services familiar to the Jews in
the days of the prophet, and onward
during the continuance of their ancient
dispensation. The quotation of part
of the verse by our Lord, Mark xi. 17,
in application to the literal temple,
which was then standing, has the
Same general aspect towards the Gen-
tiles. Comp. Mal. i. 10, 11; Ps. li.
U7Ge Rom, ΧΗ Ὁ Ὁ. 1) Tim, ii.'15;' Heb.
xiii, 15; 1 Pet. ii. 5. sp, shall be
called: i.e. shall be.

8. Israel stands for the Church of
God. Not only were the dispersed
Jews to be collected, and prepared for
the enjoyment of the privileges of the
Gospel, but the Gentiles were likewise
to be gathered, so as to form one body
with such of the former as should be
converted to the Messiah. The ante-
cedent to YY and Y¥372 is NIM, Israel,
the original stock, as the Apostle
teaches, Rom. xi. 17, 18, into which
the Gentile branches were grafted.

9. Mention having been made of

the dispersion of the Jews, the pro-
phet, by a bold apostrophe, abruptly

-summons to the execution of their

work, the agents by whom it was to
be effected. These he characterises
as wild beasts,—a metaphor not un-
usual in the prophetic writings, when
reference is made to persecuting
powers. See Jer. xii. 9; Ezek, xxxiv.
28; Dan. vii. 3, 19, 23; Rev. xiii. 1.
yoy has Wa 11743, as well as ‘Tw imn %,
for its object: to express which I have
repeated the corresponding English
verb. The interpretation of some of
the Rabbins, Rosenmiller, and others,
that the wild beasts are called to
devour one another, cannot be jus-
tified from the connexion. Lowth’s
objection to the 3 in 12 is also ground-
less. See on chap. xxi. 13.

10. The exposure of the Jews to
the inflictions of Divine indignation
is in this and the two following
verses ascribed to the impiety of
their teachers as its primary ¢ause.
They were not only neglected by
them, but deceived by their erro-
neous doctrines, and corrupted by
their bad example. Most commen-
tators consider both civil and eccle-
siastical rulers to be meant by the

418

ISATAH.

[CHAP. LVI.

They are all dumb dogs; they cannot bark ;
Dreamers; lying down; loving to slumber.

11

Yea, the dogs are greedy; they cannot have enough ;

And the shepherds themselves cannot understand :
They all turn to their own way ;
Each for his gain from his quarter.

12 Come, I will fetch wine,

And let us drink ourselves drunk with strong liquor ;
For to-morrow shall be as this day ;

Yea, vastly superior.

op’, watchmen ; but I do not find the
term ever applied figuratively to any
but prophets, or religious teachers.
Those here introduced were destitute
of spiritual perception,—consequently,
could not see the impending danger,
and give warning of it. Comp. Matt.
xv. 14; xxiii. 16, 17, 19, 24, 26. The
idea of dumb dogs was naturally sug-
gested by that of watchmen who
gave no warning. 123, fo bark, occurs
only here, but is common in the
Arabic, and in the Rabbinical He-
brew. O17 is likewise a ἅπαξ dey. Five
MSS., originally three more, and per-
haps three others, four Edd., Symm.,
and the Vulg., read ὉΠ, seers ; but
this would break in upon the meta-
phorical character of the passage.
The rendering of the LXX. ἐνυπνιαζό-
μενοι, and of Aq. φανταζόμενοι, dreamers,
delirantes, is fully supported by the

cognate Arab. Six, om, derilavit
in loquendo ; use , deliratio, whether

from sleep, or disease ; and, the refer-
ence to dogs being continued, the
term aptly describes the dreams to
which these animals are subject,
under the influence of which they
give utterance to a subdued bark or

growl, 023% conveys not merely the
idea of lying down, but of continuing
to lie, a8 in sleep.

11. wea, lit. strong of soul; i.e. of
a powerful appetite, greedy. The
metaphor expresses the avaricious
character of the Jewish teachers.
By the shepherds are meant the kings
and princes of the nation, who,
equally with the false prophets, were
destitute of spiritual discernment, and
addicted to selfishness and sensual in-
dulgence, ὙΠΕΡ, lit. from his extremity,
which expresses the extreme lengths
to which they went, in their efforts to
accumulate gain.

12. Isaiah ironically introduces
these abandoned princes as inviting
their companions to join them in in-
temperance. 7x, with which the
invitation commences, is the identical
term used ver. 9, where the wild
beasts are summoned to come and
inflict punishment upon them. Each
of them is represented as giving such
invitation, the propriety of which not
having been perceived by some in-
terpreters, they have changed the
singular 7778 into the plural 772, we
will fetch. The language here em-
ployed strikingly depicts the feelings
of the voluptuous in every age.

CHAP. 1.011.] ISAIAH. 419

CHAPTER ΤΥ}.

The prophet now proceeds to describe the national character of the Jews in
his own day, and down to the time of the captivity. Unaffected by the
removal of the pious, which is always an ominous circumstance in the
history of a nation, 1, 2, they evinced an awful hardihood in mocking God,
3, 4; abandoned themselves to the grossest idolatries, 5—8 ; and left no
methods untried by which to gratify their apostate disposition, 9, 10.
Jehovah expostulates with them on the folly of their conduct, and the
inutility of their self-righteous confidence, 11, 12 ; promises deliverance to
the penitent, 13—18; announces the Gospel of peace to be preached to
Jews and Gentiles at a period subsequent to the return from Babylon,
19; and threatens obstinate transgressors with the deprivation of every

blessing, 20, 21,

1 THE righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart;
And good men are taken away, while none considereth it ;
But it is from calamity the righteous is taken away :

2 He entereth into peace; they rest on their beds :

Every one that walketh straight before him.

3 But as for you,—draw nigh, ye sons of the sorceress!

Ye brood of the adulterer, and the whore!

1. Whether Hezekiah or Josiah be
meant by 7127 cannot be determined,
nor, indeed, whether any particular
individual be intended; but both of
these excellent princes were removed
before they were advanced in life,
and were thus relieved from the pains
of witnessing the calamities which
the wicked kings by whom they were
succeeded brought upon the nation.
nods, which properly signifies ¢o gather,
is frequently used in Niphal, of being
removed from the present state into
that of the pious dead, to be re-united
to them as still living with God, Luke
xx. 38. Comp. Gen. xxv. 8, xlix. 29.

2. The elliptical phrase ἵν Nia
means to enter into the peaceable
state of the departed, where they are
free from all the sufferings and dis-
quietudes of life. It is used of the

spirit only: the rest of the body in
the grave is expressed in the following
clause. 473} 727 is descriptive,—not
of a walk or conversation in the
invisible world, but of the character
of the blessed dead while they lived
in the present. Theirs was a straight-
forward, undeviating course.

3,4. There is great force in Dns),
with which this address commences ;
as there is, likewise, an emphasis in
the repetition of the same pronoun
towards the close of the next verse. It
places the wicked Jews in the boldest
contrast with the pious departed.
They are called to come forward and
answer for the daring profligacy of
their conduct ; and are addressed in
terms of correspending opprobrium
and reproach, 3:7 is here used sub-
stantively, instead of 734, but is pro-

420

ISATAH

[CHAP. LVIT.

4 At whom is it ye indulge in sport?
At whom is it ye gape with the mouth, ye stretch out the

tongue ?

Are ye not rebellious children ? a treacherous brood ?

or

Enflamed with gods under every green tree,

Slaying the children in the valleys,

Under the cliffs of the rocks.

6 The smooth stones of the valley are thy portion ;

They, they are thy lot ;

Yea, to them thou hast poured out a libation,

And presented an offering.

Should I not take vengeance on account of these things ?

perly the third sing. fem. of the fut.
in Kal, from 72, ¢o commit whoredom or
idolatry. 82 TW, to make a _ long
tongue, i.e. to stretch it out of the
mouth, in contempt of any one, was
not peculiar to the Hebrews. Livy,
describing the meeting of T. Manlius
and his Gallic foe, says: “Armatum
adornatumque adversus Gallum stolide
letum, et (quoniam id quoque me-
moria dignum antiquis visum est)
linguam etiam ab irrisu exserentem pro-
ducunt.” Hist. vii. 10.

5. Here commences a fearful picture
of the idolatrous practices in which
the Jews indulged. 0973, the Niph.
part. of oan, 40 burn, be inflamed with
lust. Comp. 082, from 7x, Mal. 111. 9 ;
nimi, Jer. xxii. 23; and see Ewald, καὶ
262. Orig. Gesen. Lehrg. Ὁ. 371. It
is followed by 2 to mark the im-
passioned devotedness with which
the Jews engaged in the service of
idols. By 0 x, gods or idols, not oaks
are meant, as the words immediately
following shew. Thus the LXX,,
Vulg., Targ., Syr. The barbarous
custom of immolating children in
honour of, or with a view to pro-
pitiate, the gods, was awfully pre-
valent among the Pagan nations of
antiquity. Its existence among the
Pheenicians is mentioned by Eusebius,
Prep. Evan. iv. 16; Curtius, iv. 2, 23 ;
Porphyr. de Abstin. ii. 56 ; among the
Carthaginians, by Justin. xix. 1, and
Varro, in Augustine’s Civ. Dei, vii.
19; and among the Cretans, by
Porphyr. wt sup. In Hebrew, it is

expressed by x2 O22 Yn, to offer
children, by causing them to pass into
the fire. Some, indeed, after the
Rabbins, have attempted to soften
the description, by representing the
action as consisting merely of a lus-
tration, in performing which upon
the children, they passed through
uninjured ; but that they were really
burned, such passages as Ps. cvi. 37,
38; Jer. vil. 31, xix. 5, indisputably
prove. Diod. Sic., describing the rite
as celebrated by the Carthaginians to
Cronos or Saturn, says: ἦν παρ᾽ αὐτοῖς
ἀνδριὰς Κρόνου χαλκοῦς, ἐκτετακὼς Tas
χεῖρας ὑπτίας ἐγκεκλιμένας ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν,
ὥστε τὸν ἐπιτεθέντα τῶν παίδων ἀποκυ-
λίεσθαι καὶ πίπτειν εἴς τι χάσμα πλῆρες
πυρός, Xx. 14. See Calmet and Winer,
art. “Moloch.” In the O. T. this
worship is specially spoken of in
reference to Moloch, the god of the
Ammonites. It was practised by the
Jews in the valley of Hinnom, 2
Chron. xxviii. 3, xxxili. 6; and, as
would appear from the present text,
in other valleys.

6. The Jews are addressed collec-
tively in the fem. gen.—most probably
to point out the fact of their sustain-
ing the character of the 717, specified
v. 3. In Jr PTA is an elegant
paronomasia. That the 3 in 7127773
is the Beth essentie (see on chap. XxXvi.
4), the following ἘΠῚ 077 seem clearly to
indicate. What we are to understand
by opt has been disputed. The
ancient versions give it by portion.
Hitzig and Scholz, naked, unshaded

CHAP. LVII.]

ISATAH.

421

7 On the high and lofty mountain thou hast placed thy bed ;
Yea, thou hast gone up thither to offer sacrifice.

places, without any appropriate mean-
ing. Gesenius, who had broached this
rendering i in his Comm., has returned
to that of portion in his Thesaurus,

sub voc. The root px, Arab. eS,

levigavit, quantitate et mensura definivit,
signifies fo de smooth; and as smooth
stones were used as lots, 727 in Chald.

and gsi in Arab. denote a stone

employed for this purpose. The
phrase, 72772 O28 ‘227, smooth stones
Jrom the valley, 1 ‘Sam. xvii. 40, is the
full form of what is here only ‘ellipti-
cally expressed. Since these stones are
here represented as being objects of
idolatrous worship, (722 ποθ Di7D3,)
there can be little ἫΝ that they
were such as had been smoothed and
formed into particular shapes by the
violent action of the water in the
wady upon them ; and so rendered fit
to be selected to serve as idols. Of
their size nothing is said. They are
supposed to have been the’ λίθοι
Aurapol, anointed stones, which were
consecrated to the honour of certain
deities, and were believed to be in-
stinct with their presence. They were
also called βαιτύλια ; and traceable, it
has been thought, to the transaction
at Bethel, where Jacob erected his
commemorative pillar, poured oil upon
it, and constituted it a place of Divine
worship. Lucian thus describes an
idolater, in reference to the super-
stitious veneration paid to such stones:
Pate ais ἀνὴρ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα καλὸς καὶ
ἀγαθὸς .... τὰ δὲ περὶ τοὺς θεοῦς πάνυ
νοσῶν, καὶ ἀλλόκοτα περὶ αὐτῶν πεπι-
στευκὼς, καὶ εἰ μόνον ἀληλιμμένον ποῦ
λίθον, ἢ ἢ ἔστεφανωμένον θεάσαιτο, προσ-
πίπτων ἀεὶ καὶ προσκυνῶν, καὶ ἐπὶ
πολὺ παρεστὼς, καὶ εὐχόμενος, καὶ τἀγαθὰ
παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ αἰτῶν. Pseudomantis, c.
xxx. Arnobius also, speaking of ‘his
conduct when a Pagan, says: “Si
quando conspexeram lubricatum lapi-
dem et ex olivi unguine sordidatum,
tanquam inesset vis presens, adulabar,
affabar et beneficia poscebam nihil

sentiente trunco.” Adver. Gent. i. p.
13. Comp. also: Πάντα λίθον, τὸ δὴ
λεγόμενον, λιπαρὸν ἐπροσκυνοῦν. Clem.
Alex. Strom. vii. Of this ancient
superstition, the celebrated Black

Stone (Ogud] = 1) in the angle of

the Caaba at Mecca, is, in all proba-
bility, a relic. “It is,’ says Burck-
hardt, “an irregular oval, about seven
inches in diameter, with an undulated
surface, composed of about a dozen
smaller stones of different sizes and
shapes, well joined together with a
small quantity of cement, and per-
fectly smoothed.—It is very difficult
to determine accurately the quality
of this stone, which has been
worn to its present surface by the
millions of touches and kisses it
has received.” Travels in Arabia,
i. pp. 249, 250.

Such idols were the 720, portion, and
303, Jot, of the apostate Jews, because
they regarded them as the authors of
their prosperity, possessions, and en-
joyments. The words are used pre-
cisely in the same sense in which
Jehovah is said to be the 727 of his
people, Ps. Ixxiii. 26, cxix. 57. exlii. 6 ;
Jer. x. 16; Lam. iii. 24. He is to
them the source of infinite good. See
especially the passage just quoted
from Jeremiah, in which Jehovah, as
“the portion of Jacob,” is contrasted
with the objects of heathen confidence
and worship.—There is considerable
emphasis in the repetition 07 07, as
well as in 53 before 079. “Non sim-
pliciter dicit, Fundis ipsis libamen :
sed etiam ipsis; g. d. non mihi soli
sed ipsis quoque fundis,” &c. Mus-
culus. Jin YT is equivalent to N77;
at least, an affirmative answer is im-
plied in interrogations thus put. So
the LXX. and Vulg.

7. The metaphor here employed is
taken from the conduct of astrumpet,
entirely destitute of shame. Comp.
Jer. iii. 2; Ezek. xvi. 24, 25, 31. Wis
used collectively for mountains or
hills.

an

422

ἸΞΑΤΙΑΗ͂.

[CHAP. -LVII.

8 Behind the door also, and the door-post, thou hast placed thy

memorial ;

For thou hast exposed thyself to another than me ;

Yea, thou hast gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed ;

And thou hast obtained a contract from them ;

Thou hast loved their converse ; thou hast chosen the place.
9 Yea, thou hast travelled to the king with ointment,

And multiplied thy perfumes ;

Yea, thou hast sent thy messengers to a distance,

And gone down even to Sheol.
Thou hast been fatigued with the length of thy journey :

10

Yet thou hast not said, It is desperate :
Thou hast found the vigour of thy hand ;

8. An amplified description of
idolatrous lewdness in reference to
household gods, and the worship paid
to them in secret.—j}n3, remembrance,

. memorial, that which brings to re-
membrance ; here, images or represen-
tations of celebrated idols. Comp.
Ezek. xvi. 19, xxiii. 14—16.— nxn, lit.
From with me; 1. 6. in a state of sepa-
ration or apostasy from me. Comp.
mm “me 3, Hos, 1. 2; nD, iv. 12;
and ὅν, ix. 1, in the same sense.—
DM NM; supply ΓΞ, a covenant ;
here used for the terms of a contract.
The reference is to the advantages
which the Jews expected from the
service of idols, which are represented
as the hire obtained by a harlot from
her lovers. The representation, Ezek.
Xvi. 33, 34, is of a still more aggravated
description. 3M is an incorrect form
for ™2n. For a similar instance, see
Jer. 11]. 5.—m17 2, Déderlein, Gesenius
in Comm., and Hitzig, take to be an
euphemism ; but, in his later Lexicons,
Gesenius has returned to the signi-
fication, place. That 717 signifies fo
look out, select, choose, see Exod, xviii.
21. Thus the Targ. and Syr.

9. 1 usually signifies Zo view, look
round, watch for, but here it obviously
appears to be used in the acceptation
of going or travelling. Comp. 1A, to go

about, and the Arab. ye », ter fecit ;
ww, profectio, tter ; Jb circumivit.

Lean aatle here means the king of
Assyria, Egypt, or some other foreign
country; or, whether it stands for
920, Molech, and should be so pointed,
is uncertain. We find the word
in the compound name of idols, as
yO, Adrammelech, and 37232, Anam-
melech, gods of the Sepharvaim, 2
Kings xvii. 31; and, from the con- |
nexion, it is probable that either
Molech, or some other idol, is in-|
tended. Comp. Amos v. 26; Zeph.
i. 5. The Jews are represented as
a courtesan who uses precious oils
and perfumes, in order to set off her
person, and ingratiate herself with her
paramours. To such idols as were
within reach they went in person ;
and to such as were celebrated in dis-
tant countries, they sent messengers
with offerings. *xw1v, unto Sheol,
means, 7 the lowest degree. See Deut.
Xxxil. 22, as ἕως adov, Matt. xi. 23;
Luke. x. 15. The idolatry was of the
most degrading description.

10. That 77725 means length of way,
see Josh. ix. 13. For Ν᾽), comp. Jer.
li. 25, xviii. 12.—77. 7 has been va-
riously interpreted. The literal ren-
dering, the life, i.e. vigour, strength,
of thy hand, farnishes the mogt appro-
priate meaning. The hand being the
symbol of power, and ™ being used
of whatever is lively or strong, the
idea of natural vigour is intended to
be conveyed. The idolatrous Jews
wearied themselves with their un-

CHAP. LVII.]

ISATAH.

423

Therefore, thou hast not been discouraged.

il

Who filled thee with dread? or, of whom wast thou afraid,

When thou provedst false, and didst not remember me,

Nor lay it to heart ?

Was 1 not silent, and hid mine eyes ὃ

Yet thou fearedst me not.
12

18
thee!

I will shew thy righteousness,
For they shall not profit thee.
When thou criest out, let the collection of thy gods deliver

and thy works ;

Surely, the wind shall carry them all off; a puff shall take

them away ;

But he that trusteth in me shall possess the land,
And inherit my holy mountain.

hallowed practices ; but finding that
they had not entirely exhausted their
strength, they would not give up
their pursuits as hopeless, but rather
emboldened themselves in wicked-
ness.

11. An inquiry is here put to the
infatuated Jews ; which of the idols to
which they had applied, could they
regard as more powerful than Je-
hovah ? Because he had forborne to
punish, they indulged in practices
which argued the absence of all true
regard to his authority. oz», the
reading of the Textus .Receptus, is
justly suspected. Very many MSS.,
among which the oldest ‘and _ best
Spanish, and some printed Editions,
as the Biblia Antiqua in fol., without
date, the Complutensian, and that of
Norzius of 1742, read 05ym, which, if
pointed om, with yy understood,
furnishes the sense found in the LXX.
and Vulg. mapopé ; quasi non videns.
For a similar ellipsis of Dry, see Ps.
x. 1, This reading also well agrees
with the context; so that, in con-
sideration of the whole, I have been
induced, with Lowth and Michaelis,
to depart from the punctuation of the
current text,

12. The reading ὭΣ, of which also
Lowth approves, is not by any means
so well supported, and has, in all
probability, originated in a desire to
remove the apparent incongruity of

supposing that any thing bearing the
character of righteousness could be
ascribed to the persons here addressed.
But even in the most idolatrous times
of the Jewish state, the temple-wor-
ship was not entirely abandoned. Of
this the Jews boasted, while they
joined to it the worship of other gods,
whom they were anxious to propitiate,
in order to prevent attacks on the
part of those nations of whom these
idols were regarded as the patrons.
Comp. Jer. vii. passim. This exegesis is
preferable to that of Zwinglius, who
considers the words to be spoken kar’
εἰρωνείαν sive ἀντίφρασιν. In Pwd
the idea of wicked is implied ; hence
the rendering of the LXX. τὰ κακά
cov. It would be made apparent that
neither a hypocritical service of the
true God, nor the worship of strange
gods, could be of any avail in the
hour of danger.

13. By ov13a7 are meant the idols
and images of the entire Pantheon
of the apostate Jews. Thus Jarchi,
nap Wr D>) ODOR msiap; and Ge-
senius, “ deine Haufen, gleichs. deine
Schaaren, Legionen von Gottern, dein
ganzes Pantheon.” To these they should
look in vain for deliverance.

The prophet now, by way of an-
tithesis, administers comfort to the
pious who should be involved in the
national calamity ; and promises them
a return to their own land. The lan-

424

14

10

ISATAH. [CHAP. LVII.

And it shall be said: Cast up, cast up; prepare the way ;
Remove the stumbling-block out of the way of my people.
For thus saith the high and lofty One,

That dwelleth in eternity, whose name is holy:

I dwell in the high and holy place,

But also in him that is contrite and of a lowly spirit ;

To revive the spirit of the lowly,

And to revive the heart of the contrite.

For I will not always contend,

Neither will I be angry for ever:

Since the spirit would wear out before me,
And the souls which I have made.

17

For his exorbitant iniquity I was angry, and smote him ;
I hid my face, and was angry,

Because he was contumacious in the way of his heart.

18

I have seen his ways, and 1 will heal him ;

Τ will also comfort him, and restore consolations to him,

And to his mourners ;

Creating the fruit of the lips—

Peace, peace to him that is far off,

guage employed in this and the fol-
lowing verse is almost identical with
that elsewhere employed in reference
to the same subject.

14, 128 is here used impersonally.

15, 16. These verses contain the
most sublime description of the
Divine majesty and condescension to
be found in the Scriptures. The
words require no comment; but they
have a depth of meaning which no
finite mind can fully comprehend.
Comp. Ps. cxxxviii. 6 ; Isa. lxvi. 1, 2.
ΤΟΣ and mm are here identical in
meaning, 723) standing elsewhere for
wb),

17. iyza PY, lit. the iniquity of his gain ;
but as the Hebrews were accustomed
to connect the idea of exorbitant and
oppressive means with that of lucre,
they, naturally came to give to »z3 the
signification of what was in a high
degree, or flagrantly, unjust. Hence
the combination yzirza denotes a
rapacious person, one who breaks
through all bounds in order to acquire

gain. Arab, oak secuit, amputavit ;

X. mercaturam fecit. Comp. Eph. v. 5,
πλεονέκτης Os ἐστιν εἰδωλολάτρης. The
pronominal masculine affix in ᾿θ 53 has
for its antecedent Oy, ver. 14, which
accounts for the use of this gender in
this and the following verse. HOT is
the historical infinitive ; 22 being un-
derstood. The ) in 72) is causal.

18. It is here implied that such
were the destructive courses pursued
by the Jews, that they were irreco-
verable by any merely human means.
Jehovah, therefore, graciously declares
that he will reclaim them, remove
their punishment, and restore comfort
to them. The distinction between
“him” and “ his mourners ” seems to
be, that by the latter are meant such
of the heathen as had become prose-
lytes to the faith of the Jews, and,
from sympathy, bewailed their cap-
tivity in Babylon.

19. By mney 13, fruit of the lips, is
meant the following announcement,
Peace, Peace. It denotes the proclama-
tion of reconciliation in the Gospel,
which is vindicated to God as its
author, Comp. καρπὸν χειλέων, Heb,

CHAP. LVIII. |

ISAIAH.

425

And to him that is near, saith Jehovah ;

And I will heal him.

20 But as for the wicked, they are each tossed about like the sea,

Which cannot rest ;

And whose waters cast up mire and mud.
21 There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.

xiii. 15, where, however, the subject of
reference is praise. The repetition,
DW DIY, is expressive of the highest,
or most complete, peace. The appro-
priated use of p77 and 397, to designate
the Gentiles along with the Jews,
shews that the prophet had that
period in view when both should be
upon an equality in regard to privi-
leges. Comp. Zech. ix. 10; Acts x.
36; Eph. ii. 17.

20, 21. The character and unhappy

condition of such as reject the mes-
sage of peace, and persevere in a
course of rebellion, are here distinctly
pointed out. Twenty-two MSS. read
mm instead of wx, while three others,
with the Alex. copy of the LXX. and
the Arabic, combine both; but this
diversity has doubtless arisen from
the influence of chap. xlviii. 22, where
the same declaration is made, and
where all the MSS. exhibit 77, The
Hexap. Syr. has simply jn τ

CHAPTER LVIII.

Having in the preceding chapter depicted the character of his countrymen, in
the times immediately preceding the captivity, he now sets forth their cha-
racter as exhibited towards its close, and from the period of that calamity,
till the time of our Lord, Though recovered from idolatry, and professing
great zeal for the worship of the true God, their religion was, in a great
measure, confined to external forms and services, which were made a cloak

for their wickedness.

We learn from Zech. vii. viii., that the subject of

fasts greatly occupied their attention after the return ; and the fact that
the sect of the Pharisees sprang up in the course of a short time, in whose
character the union of religious pretension with covert depravity was noto-
rious, leaves no room to doubt that the portraiture here given was chiefly
intended for them. It must, indeed, be familiar to every one who has perused

the gospels.

In this chapter, the prophet receives a commission to announce to the Jews
the guilt which they still contracted, notwithstanding the flaming character
of their religious profession, 1, 2; he specifies the worthlessness of their
fasts, 3—5; points out the nature of acceptable fasting, 6, 7 ; promises
prosperity and happiness to such as sincerely engaged in the service of God,
8—12; and concludes with a particular recognition of the sanctity of the
Sabbath, and a special promise to those who should hallow it, 13, 14.

420

ISATAH. [CHAP. LVIII.

Cry aloud, restrain not ;

Raise thy voice like a trumpet ;

And declare to my people their rebellion,

And to the house of Jacob their sins.

They seek me, indeed, every day,

And delight to know my ways ;

Like a nation that doeth righteousness,

And forsaketh not the ordinance of its God ;

They inquire of me respecting righteous ordinances ;
They delight in approaching to God.

Why [say they] do we fast, and thou regardest not ?
Do we humble ourselves, and thou takest no notice ?

Behold! on your fast-day ye attend to business,

And exact all your tasks.

4 Behold! it is for strife and contention ye fast,
And to smite with the fist of injustice ;
Ye should not fast as ye do this day,
Causing your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is this the fast which I approve—
The day for a man to humble himself?

1. The loudness of the proclamation
indicates the enormity of the evil. ΝῊ
Waa, lit. ery through or with the throat,
1. 6. with a full voice proceeding from
the lungs, as distinguished from that
which comes merely from the lips and
tongue.

2. The persons spoken of discovered
much outward zeal and punctuality in
attending to the ceremonies of reli-
gion, and took a certain kind of de-
light in going the round of duty,
from the self-righteous persuasion
that thereby they merited the Divine
favour. ΚῚΣ ΒΦ and OY np, Gese-
nius interprets of judgments of righ-
teousness executed upon the enemy,
and the approach of God to execute
these judgments. The context, how-
ever, requires us to understand them
of religious ordinances, and direct
acts of religious worship. Comp., for
the latter phrase, Ps. lxxiii. 28.

3. Notwithstanding the rigidity of
their fasts, they felt a lurking convic-
tion that they did not enjoy the
favour of God. That yon signifies

business, and not pleasure, in this place,
the use of 12%, /abowr, in the corres-
ponding member of the parallelism,
sufficiently shews. The latter word
the LXX. understand of servants:
kal πάντας τοὺς ὑποχειρίους ὑμῶν ὑπο-
vuooere ; but such a signification is
not justified from usage. The mean-
ing doubtless is, that though the pha-
risaical Jews would not themselves
engage in manual labour, they did not
scruple to make the most rigorous
demands on the time and strength of
those whom they employed, requiring
the full amount of their daily task.

4. An amplification of the descrip-
tion just given. Whether causing the
voice to be heard on high be meant
to convey the idea of the loud clamour
of debate, or the elevation of the
voice in public prayers, may seem
doubtful. The former construction is
the better sustained by the immediate
context,

5. 13, which properly signifies fo ¢ry,
examine, prove, 18 evidently employed
here in the sense of approving what is

CHAP. LVIII. |

ISATAH. 427

Ts it to hang down his head like a bulrush ?
To make sackcloth and ashes his couch ?

Wilt thou call this a fast,

And a day aeceptable to Jehovah ?
6 Is not this the fast which I approve :—
To loosen the fetters of injustice ;
To untie the cords of the yoke ;
And to set the oppressed at liberty ;
And to burst asunder every yoke ?
7 Is it not to break thy bread to the hungry;
And to bring the persecuted poor into thy house’;
When thou seest the naked, to clothe him ;
‘And not to hide thyself from thine own flesh ?
8 Then should thy light break forth as the morning,
And thy welfare spring up quickly ;
Thy righteousness also should go before thee,
And the glory of Jehovah should be thy rearward.
9 Then thou shouldst call, and Jehovah would answer ;

found to be good. 83 niiy, to humble
the soul, or oneself, is parallel with dix,
fast, and the second member of the he-
mistich merely expresses in different
phraseology what is expressed in the
first. It is the identical phrase em-
ployed to describe the fasting to be
observed on the great day of atone-
ment, Lev. xvi. 29, 31; xxiii. 27, 32.
Want of attention to these circum-
stances led me, in the former edition
of this work, to refer it to the third
line of the verse, which, however,
forms the first of another parallelism.
ΕΣ is obviously used, as frequently,
with the force of a reflexive pronoun.

za from yy, Arab. rey to strew or

place as a bed, prepare a place to lie
in. The language describes the coarsest
accommodation, such as that men-
tioned by Wellsted, when he was
under the necessity of making his
bed in the ground, by digging out a
sufficient portion of the dust or sand,
and covering himself with whatever
he had at hand. Travels in Arabia,
vol. ii. p. 30.

6, 7. Jehovah now describes the
nature of the fast of which he ap-
proves, in language appropriate to

the circumstances of the religionists
to whom special reference is here
made. Comp. Jer. xxxiv. 8—18.
Hospitality is a virtue which has
always held the very first rank among
the Oriental nations ; and any symp-
tom of indisposition to exercise it,
has ever met with execration. See
Gen. xviii. 1—8, xix. 1, 2; Job xxxi.
16—21; Matt. xxv. 35, 36. For on) Dw,
comp. Ψψωμίζειν, 1 Cor. xiii. 3, and
Bloomfield’s Note. oma, lit. persecu-
tions, for DN "O28, men of persecutions,
1. 6. the persecuted; from the Eth.

CRE: persequi: TAQ BR: per-
secutionem passus est. The LXX. ren-
der ἄστεγοι, the houseless. By 713, thy
own flesh, is meant kindred, or relatives,
especially such as were more imme-
diately connected. It not unfrequently
happens, that persons whose minds
are influenced by false notions of reli-
gion, disregard family and relative
claims. See Matt. xv. 5, 6.

8. A beautiful figurative representa-
tion of a state of prosperity, with re-
ference to Jehovah as its author.

9—12, These verses contain a con-
tinuation of promises made to such
as should serve God with acceptance,

428

ISATAH.

[CHAP. LVIII.

Thou shouldst cry, and he would say, Behold me!
If thou remove from the midst of thee the yoke,
The pointing with the finger, and wicked discourse ;

10

And cause thy desire to go forth to the hungry,

And satisfy the desire of the oppressed ;
Then should thy light arise in darkness,
And thy obscurity should be as noon.

11

Then Jehovah would lead thee continually,

And satisfy thee in extreme drought ;

He also would strengthen thy bones ;

And thou shouldst be like a well-watered garden,
And like a fountain whose water faileth not.

12

Yea, those that belong to thee should rebuild the ancient ruins ;

Thou shouldst restore the foundations of successive gene-

rations:

And thou shouldst be called, The Repairer of the breach ;
The Restorer of paths for the inhabitants.

and a further amplification of particu-
lars by which their religion was to be
characterised. The 228 728 refers to
the holding out of the middle finger
in contempt of any person, on which
account it was called by the ancients
infamis digitus, Pers. 11. 33. Gesen.
compares Martial, 11. 28, 2:

“ Rideto multo
. et digitum porrigito medium ;”

and Plaut. Pseudol. iv. 7,45 : “intende
digitum in hunc;” and aptly remarks,

that the denominative Arab. verb we

signifies, intendit digitum in aliquem vitu-
perii ergo.—In 5) PPT is no difficulty,
requiring the substitution of 07),
which Lowth adopts. It is expres-
sive of a strong feeling of desire to-
wards the indigent, the contrary of
which we have in the κλείειν τὰ
σπλάγχνα ἀπὸ τινὸς, 1 John iii. 17.
Others think, that by 22 is here
meant the object of desire, of appetite,
or the like; and that the duty enjoined
is, that the person who fasts is to give
to the poor what might have afforded
gratification to himself. For ΓΊΠΕΠΣ,

11, comp. the Arab. ci:

ver.

pauca, minimeque profunda aqua; ee

sol, campus patens soli expositus ; hence
ὑπ}: shining, dry, and the like. The
reduplicate form is, as usual, inten-
sive. The images here employed are
peculiarly forcible in Eastern coun-
tries, where there is frequently a
great paucity of water, and where, in
consequence, a perennial spring is
of immense value.—n2X), for dwelling,
is put for NI 2x2, or λυ, for the in-
habitants, i. e. such as should occupy
the country.

As these prophecies were to be in
the hands of the Jews before they
left’ Babylon, and as the evils against
which they were directed existed, at
least in their germ, during the latter
part of the captivity, it cannot be
deemed any violation of hermeneu-
tical consistency, to apply the restora-
tion of the ruined cities here spoken
of to that which took place after the
return. This interpretation is prefer-
able to that which would construe
722, ver. 12, as signifying thy posterity,
in reference to a distant futurity ; for
there seems no ground for addressing
such a promise to the Jews after their
return, or even in the time of our
Lord.

CHAP. 11Χ.]

ISATAH.

429

13 If thou restrain thy foot on the Sabbath,
And do not thine own business on my holy day ;
And call the Sabbath, a delight,
And the holy day of Jehovah, honourable ;

And honour it,—
Not doing thine own ways,

Nor attending to thine own business,

Nor spending it in talk :
14

Then thou shouldst delight thyself in Jehovah ;

And I would cause thee to ride over the heights of the earth ;
And feed thee with the inheritance of Jacob thy father:
For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.

13. Occasion is taken from the in-
troduction of the subject of fasts, to
advert to that of the Sabbath, the ob-
servance of which was so strictly en-
forced in the Mosaic law, and has, in
all ages, been found essential to the
maintenance and prosperity of spiri-
tual religion. 2, business, worldly
affairs, as ver.3. More than one hun-
dred and twelve MSS., and eighteen
printed editions, read 7257, in the
plural. In niwy there is an ellipsis
of the prepositive Ὁ, which is easily
supplied from the preceding 29.

Many MSS. supply ) before “779.—
1217727 is used idiomatically for mere
talk, or idle and unprofitable conver-
sation. I have endeavoured, in the
translation, to give the force of the
idiom.

14. ΡΠ is aptly borrowed from
the use of 229 in the preceding verse.
Comp. Ps. xxxvii. 4. The metaphor
of riding over the heights is taken
from military usage, and expresses
the triumphant progress of the Jews
in pee possession of the whole
land.

CHAPTER LIX.

This chapter contains an awful picture of the depraved state of Jewish morals.
To no period of their history does it appear so applicable, as to that imme-

diately preceding the destruction of their polity by the Romans.
testimonies adduced from Josephus in the note on chap. liii. 8.

See the
It thus

connects with the portraiture of Pharisaism reprobated in the preceding

chapter.

The fact that no reference whatever is made to idolatrous prac-

tices, proves that times succeeding the Babylonish captivity must be in-
tended. In consequence of the aggravated sins of the Jews, God abandoned
them to intestine broils, the rapacity and oppressions of wicked rulers, and
the subjugating power of the Romans, whereby their national prosperity
was destroyed, and they were reduced to circumstances of great distress.

Pt el

480 ISATAH. [CHAP. LIX.

The prophet shews, 1, 2, that their pitiable condition was to be attributed, not
to any want of ability in God to deliver them, but to their own sinfulness.
He then enters into a minute specification of their crimes, with a view to
shew that they richly merited the sufferings that had been inflicted upon
them, 3—8 ; having finished which, he draws up a confession for them, and
introduces them as bewailing their calamitous circumstances, and acknow-
ledging their sins as the cause of the Divine displeasure, 9—15. On the
failure of all human means of reformation, Jehovah is represented as him-
self interposing, partly to effect salvation for his people, partly to take ven-
geance on the incorrigible, and partly, afterwards, to execute judgment on
the Romans, whom he had employed as the instruments of his vengeance,
16—18. The prophet then foretells what would follow the destruction of
imperial Rome,—the spread of true religion, first in Europe, and other
parts of the west, &c., and afterwards in Asia; and the desperate effort of
the last Antichrist, 19 ; and the chapter concludes with the announcements
that the salvation of the Jews was the primary and immediate object of the
Messiah’s advent, and that the Divine covenant made with the Jewish
people, in the person of Abraham, shall assuredly take effect in their future
general conversion, 20, 21.

For regularity of structure, beauty and force of imagery, fidelity, and
minuteness of graphic description, this section is quite in the best style
of Isaiah.

1 Benorp! the hand of Jehovah is not short, that it cannot save ;
Nor is his ear heavy, that it cannot hear.
2 But it is your iniquities that have made a separation between
you and your God ; |
And your sins have caused him to hide his face from you, and
not to hear.
3 For your hands are polluted with blood,
And your fingers with imiquity ;
Your lips speak falsehood,
Your tongue uttereth wickedness.

1—3. The prophet anticipates the 032 ὙΠΟ occurs. Comp. DX D9,

complaints of the Jews respecting the
calamitous state of their affairs, and
fearlessly imputes it to their own
guilt as the cause. Instead, therefore,
of finding fault with the Divine con-
duct, it behoved them to criminate
themselves. 0°25 is used absolutely, as
here, without the pronoun, Job xxxiy.
29; Jer. ii. 27, xviii. 17: so that the
proposed emendations of Secker and
Lowth are uncalled for. In the first
of these passages the very phrase

Isa. 111. 3.—The idea of pollution
appears to have been attached to 3,
from the circumstance that the >s3,
or Avenger of blood, was considered to
have the blood of murder upon him,
till he had avenged it. It is not
a verb of the later Hebrew, as Gese-
nius maintains, being found in this
sense, Zeph. iii. 1; and may well have
been used by Isaiah, who flourished
little more than fifty years earlier.

CHAP. 11Χ.]

4 None advocateth justice,

ISATAH.

431

Neither doth any one contend for truth ;
They rely upon a thing of nought, and speak vanity ;
They conceive evil, and bring forth iniquity.

or

They hatch the eggs of the basilisk,

And weaye the webs of the spider ;
He that eateth of their eggs shall die,
And that which is crushed shall produce a viper.
6 Their webs shall not become raiment,
Neither shall they cover themselves with their works ;
Their works are works of iniquity,
And the deed of violence is in their hands.

~

Their feet run to that which is evil,

And they hasten to shed innocent blood:
Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity ;
Destruction and havoc are in their paths.
8 The way of peace they know not ;
Neither is there any justice in their tracks:
They make for themselves crooked paths ;
None that walketh therein knoweth peace.
9 Therefore, justice is removed far from us,

And equity reacheth us not ;

We look for light, but behold! darkness ;
For brightness, but we walk in gloom.

10 We grope about, like the blind, for the wall:
Like those who have no eyes do we grope :

5, 6. The figures here employed are
simple, but forcibly expressive of the
fruitlessness of all ungodly plans, and
the certainty, that, sooner or later,
they will recoil on the head of their
inventors. | The very religion of such
persons is utterly worthless. 779 is
the fem. of the passive part. of 1%,
to press, squeeze, crush: only Segol is
substituted for Kametz, as 725 for 72),
Zech. ν. 4. Why the substitution was
made does not appear.

7, 8. These verses are in part intro-
duced by Paul into his quotations
from the O. T. when describing the
depravity of the Jews, Rom. iii. 15—
17. The repetition of WT NX) DID 7D,
under a different form, is ‘hot without
emphasis.

9, uSun and ΤΡῚΣ are here used in
the sense of Divine judgments inter-
posed to vindicate the cause of the
nation.

10. The charge of poverty and in-
elegance brought by Lowth against
the oe of T2W22 in this verse is
unfair, and his adoption of 72223, the
emendation proposed by Houbigant,
altogether unwarranted. The Hebrew
poets are fond of repetitions. See
especially in Isaiah, chap. xi. 5, xv. 1,
xvi. 12, 13, xix. 7, xlii. 19, lv.4. The
prophet might have employed the
synonymous verb wn; but he chose
to repeat the unusual v3, for the sake
of more emphatically giving expres-
sion to the thought.—D22tx has been
variously interpreted. In all proba-

432

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. LIX.

We stumble at noon, as in the twilight ;
Like those that die in circumstances of plenty.

ΠῚ

We all of us growl like bears,

And moan continually like doves ;
We look for justice, but there is none ;
For salvation, but it is far from us.

12

For our rebellious deeds are numerous before thee,

And each of our sins testifieth against us ;
For our rebellious deeds are with us;
And as for our iniquities, we acknowledge them.

13

We have rebelled, and acted falsely towards Jehovah ;

And have gone back from our God ;
We have spoken words of violence and revolt ;
We have conceived, and uttered from the heart, matters of

falsehood.
14

And equity standeth aloof ;

Justice also is made to withdraw,

For truth stumbleth in the street,

bility, it is a derivative from ἡ, to be
Jat, with Aleph prosthetic ; and sig-
nifies the dest, richest, most fuvourable
circumstances in which persons can
be placed. It is thus perfectly parallel
with Onn in the preceding hemistich.
Others less aptly compare 72%, Gen.
XXVil. 28, 39, and o';0u, Dan. xi. 24.
The meaning is, that no security was
enjoyed, or could be hoped for.

11. For the growling of the bear,
comp. Ovid Metam. IT. 485:

“Mens antiqua tamen facto quoque
mansit in urso:

Assiduoque suos gemitu testata do-
lores ;”

and for the plaintive moaning of the
dove, chap. xxxviii. 14 ; Ezek. vii. 16.
The language is that of dissatisfaction,
grief, and despair. The Jewish affairs
had become all but desperate.

12. A deep-felt and frank confes-
sion. To aggravate the guilt of sin,
it is frequently spoken of in the
Scriptures as being committed zz the
presence of, or before GoD. ny, the
sing. agrees distributively with 1»nNen
in the plural—uanx, with us, i.e. in-
stead of being forgotten, and thus

removed from our view, our sins are
seen and felt by us. Rosen. “culpz
nostree nobis conscii sumus.”

13. There is in this verse an unpa-
ralleled accumulation of Infinitives:
not only expressing more emphatically
or powerfully, by this naked form of
the verb, the continuity and enormity
of the actions, but placing them in
close juxtaposition, in order to render
them more distinctly prominent in
the aggregate. 2102 is not to be taken
as the Niph. of 230, but is the Infin.
of the root 302, with the same mean-
ing. The verse is historically descrip-
tive both of the immediate past, and
of what was still in existence. As
there is no mention of idolatry either
here, or in the following verses, the
rebellion against Jehovah specifically
intended must be that alienation of
heart which so awfully discovered
itself in the sins enumerated by the
prophet.

14, ΠῚ properly signifies a wide
open sfree/, but here it seems rather
to be used in reference to the forum,
or broad open place at the gate, where
justice was administered. sia has a
similar reference,

CHAP. LIX.]

And rectitude cannot enter.

15 Yea, truth is missing,

ISATAH.

433

And he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey.
And Jehovah saw, and it displeased him,

Because there was no justice.
16

He saw also that there was no one ;

And he was astonished that there was none to interpose ;
Therefore his own arm wrought salvation for him,
And his righteousness sustained him.

17

Yea, he put on righteousness as a coat of mail,

And a helmet of salvation was on his head ;
Yea, he put on garments of vengeance for apparel,
And clothed himself with zeal as a mantle.

18 According to their demerits, he will strictly render :

15. Xm, Targ. puand; Vulg. pre-
de patuit. Comp. Ps. lxxvi. 6. The

᾿ root °73, Arab. Uw, signifies Zo draw

out or off, to strip, plunder.

16,17. Just at the time when the
wickedness of the Jews had reached
its height, and it was rendered evident
to all that it could not be arrested by
any human power, Jehovah interposes
for the deliverance of his people, and
the punishment of the wicked. In
his usual anthropopathic style, Isaiah
represents God as filled with amaze-
ment at the discovery, that no one
should be found qualified to reform
and save the nation. Comp. chap.
Ixiii, 5. odpinea forcibly expresses
that complete mental disturbance into
which one is thrown by the appear-
ance of any thing unexpected or
alarming. Root Ὁρῶ, to lay waste,
destroy. That by 7Y%, salvation, we
are to understand that spiritual deli-
verance which the Redeemer came to
effect, and not any temporal rescue,
appears from the description given of
his work, ver. 20. For 2259, see on
chap. 111. 6,12. It is here used gene-
rally to denote interposition. The idea
of intercession is foreign to the pas-
sage. To express the greatness of the
conflict, and the qualifications of the
Messiah to engage in it, language
borrowed from the armour and dress
of ancient warriors is employed.

Comp. Eph. vi. 10—17; 1 Thess. v.
8. Not only should the Mediator be
possessed of resistless power, but also
of moral purity, courage, and ardour.
my27mn—w2 is too much in the style
of our prophet to allow us for a
moment to doubt of the genuineness
of the latter word. Instead of being
inelegant, as Jubb insinuates, it is
singularly beautiful.

18. Interpreters have raised un-
necessary difficulties in reference to
the repetition of the compound pre-
position 3. For the alteration of
Lowth, who reads °v3, there is no MS.
authority, except perhaps that of
Kennicott’s Cod. 126, which may also
be merely an alteration in imitation
of the Targ. The preposition itself
occurs in this very form, in connexion
with the verb 73, chap. lxiii. 7; and
as to the repetition, it is not more
harsh than that of 322, chap. 11]. 6;
where there is an ellipsis of >, just
as there is here of n\723,—both words
being so easily supplied by the reader.
On the contrary, there is an elegance
attaching to it, as every one must
perceive on reading the words:

D2w Oyp nina WD.

The emendation proposed by the Bi-
shop—

NT ΤΥ bya

Dow m3 bv2

484

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. LIX.

Fury to his adversaries, retribution to his foes :
To the maritime lands he will render retribution.
19 Then shall those of the west fear the name of Jehovah ;

And those of the sun-rise his

is drawling and paraphrastic, and
does not after all admit of the inter-
pretation which he puts upon it. Pro-
perly rendered, it would be—

He is the Retributor ;
The Retributor will requite.

Nothing less in keeping with the

style of the preceding verses could

have been introduced.

In this verse there is an obvious
distinction between two classes of
enemies on whom retribution was to
be inflicted. The former, specially
characterised as DN and ODS, are the
wicked Jews so graphically described
in the preceding part of the chapter,
the atrocity of whose hostility was
particularly manifested in the perse-
cution of our Saviour and his fol-
lowers. The Apostle expressly calls
them ἐχθροὶ, scil. rod Θεοῦ, Rom. xi.
28; and it is to them and their poli-
tical excision that our Lord so em-
phatically points, Luke xix. 27 ; comp.
vers. 12—14. The retribution here
predicted was rendered when Jeru-
salem was destroyed, and the Jews
scattered among the nations. The
other class on whom vengeance was
to be taken were the Romans—those
inhabiting the D%x, or maritime re-
gions to the west of Palestine. They,
in their turn, met with retribution
when the swarms of northern bar-
barians poured in upon the empire,
ravaged its provinces, plundered its
cities, and ultimately effected its total
overthrow. That the judgments which
have since been, and are still to be
inflicted on the European states, in
punishment of their connexion with,
and support of, the hostile power of
Rome ecclesiastical, are also included
in the prediction, I think highly pro-
bable. Comp. Rev. xvi. 19, 20.

19. The holy seer has next pre-
sented to his inspired vision the
spread of true religion in times sub-
sequent to the overthrow of the

glory ;

Roman empire. It is particularly
worthy of notice, that, while in every
other passage of Scripture in which
the spread of the Gospel is spoken of,
it is uniformly represented as ad-
vancing from the East towards the
West, that order is here reversed.
True religion is first set forth as
flourishing in the West, and then in
the Eastern regions of the earth.
Whoever reflects on the actual amount
of Scriptural piety in this country
and America, (not excluding its pro-
gress in the Continental states of
Europe,) and compares it with the
religious aspect of Asia,—at the same
time surveying the successful efforts
which are being made by European
and American missionaries, both to
regenerate the fallen Oriental churches,
and to diffuse the light of Divine
truth in the Mohammedan and Pagan
countries of the East, can hardly
avoid coming to the conclusion, that
what we have lived to witness is an
incipient fulfilment of the prophecy.
The last desperate effort of the
anti-Christian power now presents
itself to the view of the prophet.
That Ἢ is to be taken as a substan-
tive, and the nominative to sv, and
not as an adjective qualifying 173, the
exigency of the passage absolutely
requires. So Maurer decidedly. The
event to which reference is made is
not the execution of judgment pre-
dicted in the preceding verse, but
succeeds the spread of the Gospel
predicted in the former half of the
present. To no antecedent can the
verb with any propriety be referred.
The renderings, therefore, of the LXX.
ἥξει yap ὡς ποταμὸς βίαιος ἡ ὀργὴ mapa
Κυρίου, the Vulg., Lowth, Gesenius,
Noyes, Hitzig, and others, cannot be
sustained, Equally untenable is the
principle of interpretation which
would render Tim 1, ‘a strong or
mighty wind? Such rendering ought
long ago to have been repudiated as
totally unfounded on Hebrew usage.

CHAP. LIX. |

ISATAH.

435

When the adversary cometh in like a river,
The breath of Jehovah shall raise a standard against him.
20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion ;
Even to those in Jacob that turn from transgression, saith

Jehovah.

21 For as to me, this is my covenant with them, saith Jehovah :

My Spizit which is upon thee,

In no instance can it be proved that
the phrases O'7>x ΠῚ and Mim 1 have
any such meaning. Whenever moun-
tains, cedars, &c. are placed in con-
struction with the Divine names, such
names are not used as superlatives,
but indicate the origin to which these
objects are to be referred. See on
chap. xiv. 13. A mighty wind is ex-
pressed in Hebrew by 737310, That
mm 1 is here equivalent to rnp 77,
chap. xi. 4, and the corresponding
TO πνεῦμα TOD στόματος αὐτοῦ, 2 Thess.
il. 8, seems in the highest degree
probable. The subject and all the
circumstances are identical.

What the prophet teaches is, that
when the great visible Adversary of
the cause of Christ upon earth—the
1s by way of eminence—shall collect
all his forces, in order to crush the
people of God, a Divine mandate shall
eall forth destruction upon them.
Comp. Dan. vii. 26, 27; Rev. xix.
, 11—21. περ", as to form, may either
be the Benoni Part. of 002, ¢o lift up,
elevate, as a standard ; whence Ὁ), ὦ
banner or ensign ; or the third person
singular in the Poel of Ὁ"), fo flee ;
but as the latter verb is never used
in a transitive acceptation, except in
Hiphil, we are compelled to adopt
the former, which is the rendering of
our common version. Thus also, in
effect, Theod. πνεῦμα Κυρίου ἐσημειώθη
ἐν αὐτῷ ; Saad. & de er ΔΜ} γον"
And so Dathe, Boothroyd, and Lee
in his Heb. Lex. sub voc. It is equi-
valent to D2 803, chap. v. 26 ; and the
meaning is, that by the command of
Jehovah his army should be called
out and directed to the final and
victorious conflict with the enemy.

20, 21. It is impossible for any one
impartially to examine the scope and

management of the Apostle’s argu-
ment, Rom. xi., and not to perceive
that he quotes this passage in verses
26, 27, for the express purpose of
proving, from the Old Testament, the
future conversion of the Jewish people.
The chronology of the two writers is
in the strictest harmony. For, as.
Isaiah introduces the conversion of
the Jews as happening after the
general extension of true religion
among the Gentiles, so Paul mani-
festly links the two events together
in the same order : “ Blindness in part
is happened to Israel UNTIL THE FUL-
NESS OF THE GENTILES BE COME IN.
AND SO ALL ISRAEL SHALL BE SAVED:
as it is written,” &c. Between the
Hebrew text, the LXX., and the Greek
of the Apostle, there are some verbal
discrepancies ; but the general sense
is the same. Instead of 7589, the
LXX. read ἕνεκεν Σιὼν ; Paul, ἐκ Σιὼν.
The former is not, indeed, at variance
with the force of the Heb. preposi-
tion; but as the latter is totally so,
it has not without reason been sup-
posed that the Apostle had in his
mind Ps. xiv. 7, where the identical
phrase occurs, in connexion with the
deliverance of the Jews. For yvp ‘209
aya, the LXX. have καὶ ἀποστρέψει
ἀσεβείας ἀπὸ ᾿Ιακὼβ, which is followed
by Paul. The principal idea being
the conversion of the Jewish people,
it made no difference to the Apostle’s
argument, whether he viewed it ac-
tively or passively. From the cir-
cumstance that the advent of the
Saviour is limited, in the way of pro-
mise, to such of the Jews as should
repent, and turn to God, we may
safely infer that mas ᾿Ισραὴλ, ‘ all Is-
rael,’ Rom. xi. 26, is not intended to
convey the idea that every individual
of the nation, but that the mass, the

436

ISATAH.

[CHAP. Lx.

And my words which I have put into thy mouth,
Shall not depart from thy mouth,

Nor from the mouth of thy seed,

Nor from the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith Jehovah,
From henceforth, even for ever.

great body, the people generally, shall
be saved. Comp., for a similar re-
stricted use of πᾶς, Matt. 11. 3, i. 5.
It clearly appears from chap. lxv. 11,
that in the latter day there will still
be a number of the Jews who will
prefer their infidelity and secular
interests to the sacred claims of reli-
gion. That a future, and not the first
advent of the Redeemer is intended,
must be maintained, as more in ac-
cordance with the spirit of the pas-
sage.

_ The subject, ver. 21, is the dispen-
sation of the spirit and truth to the
restored Israelites, of which they
should no more be deprived as in
times past. The change from the
third person plural to the second
singular is not uncommon in Hebrew,
and seems to be here specially made
with a view to give greater point and
interest to the promise. The hypo-
thesis of Gesenius, that Isaiah and

his successors in office are meant,
is totally unsupported by any thing
in the context. The ¢erminus a quo,
marked by 7529, from now, is not the
period in which the prophet wrote,
but that of the events to which the
prediction refers—the future conver-
sion of the Jews. For the due fulfil-
ment of the prophecy, a corroborative
pledge is afforded by their continued
preservation as a distinct people.

In the last verses of this chapter,
the events of the future, though some
of them widely distant from each
other in point of time, are placed in
close juxtaposition,—the whole having
been presented, as in a perspective
group, to the inward view of the pro-
phet. On the subject of the future
conversion of the Jews, the reader
will find much information in a long,
but interesting note of Michaelis, in
his Anmerkungen, on these two verses.

CHAPTER LX.

That this and the remaining chapters mainly refer to the future prosperity
and glory of the Jews, when restored to a state of church-relation to
Jehovah, is the only position that can be maintained, consistently with

a strict adherence to definite principles of interpretation.

In our most

esteemed commentaries there is a perpetual vacillaney between the literal
and the spiritual, the Jews and the Gentiles, the past and the future, which
is anything but satisfactory. From many of them, indeed, it is evident
that their authors, notwithstanding their strong propensity to apply these
predictions to the past and present privileges of the Christian Church, as
made up of Gentile converts, and the still fuller enjoyment of these privi-
leges during the Millennium, have been compelled to admit that the Jews
are not altogether to be excluded, though they still begrudge them a re-

establishment, as a converted community, in the land of Palestine.

To me

CHAP. LX.] ISATAH. 437

it appears, from the close connexion of these chapters with the last verses
of chapter lix.; from the obvious distinction kept up between the con-
verted Jews and converted Gentiles ; from the direct recognition of restored
cities, lands, vineyards, &c., which had long lain desolate ; as well as from
the general bearing of the whole—that the glorious re-integration of the
Jewish people into the Church of God is the exalted theme on which the
prophet so largely expatiates, and in treating of which he may truly be
said to have exhausted all the variety of imagery with which his style‘is so
richly charged. Not that he loses sight of the Gentiles: on the contrary,
they are repeatedly brought forward, though it certainly is rather for the
purpose of gracing the triumphs of his own people, than of exhibiting
them in the all-engrossing light in which they have usually been presented.
How much soever he is to be regarded as the evangelical prophet, and how
much soever he was raised above the contracted spirit by which his
countrymen were too generally actuated, still he was a prophet of the Jews
and to the Jews. Their interests as a people, both in the then present, and
in the future, could not but deeply engross him: so that, while he hails
with feelings of delight the extension of the blessings of salvation to the
Gentile world, he anticipates with ecstatic joy the recovery of his “ brethren,
his kinsmen according to the flesh.”

The chapter may justly be viewed as an ἀποτέλεσμα or finished exhibition of
the triumphant and glorious state of the church during the Millennium :
the Jews, restored to their own land, and brought to acknowledge Jesus as
the true and only Messiah, forming the central portion of the Divine
kingdom, while distant nations cheerfully accord to them a due regard,
not only as brethren in the faith, and partakers of the common salvation,
but as “the natural branches,” again occupying their place in “their own
olive tree,”—“ beloved for the fathers’ sakes,” Rom. xi. 21, 24, 28. Nothing
can exceed the glowing colours in which the happy condition of the
Millennial Church is here depicted. The figures are rich and varied ; the
structure, grandeur, and flow of the poetic diction are admirable ; and the
whole is calculated to produce and cherish the brightest expectations of
the sacred ‘golden age.’

Fired by the prospect which had burst upon his vision, chap. lix. 20, 21, the
prophet in the most animated manner summons Jerusalem, the personified
representative of the Jewish people, to arise from her long state of deso-
lation, and reflect the splendour imparted to her by Jehovah, 1, 2; and
describes the nations with their rulers, merchants, and shepherds, as
voluntarily and liberally contributing to her re-establishment, 3—7. The
multitude of her dispersed sons have every facility afforded for their
return, 8, 9 ; men of all nations and ranks resort to her, with their wealth
and every thing that can add to her beauty and stability, 10—14; the
most complete change takes place in regard to both her external and
internal circumstances ; and the most complete provision is made for full,
uninterrupted, and undiminished supplies of knowledge, purity, afd
happiness, 15—22.

ed

ISAIAH.

ARISB, shine, for thy light is come,

And the glory of Jehovah hath arisen upon thee.
For, behold! the darkness shall cover the earth,
And gross darkness the people ;

(CHAP. LX.

But upon thee Jehovah shall arise,
And his glory shall be seen upon thee.
3 And nations shall come to thy light, ,
And kings to the brightness of thy rising.
4 Lift up thine eyes around and behold ;
They all collect themselves, they come to thee :

Thy sons shall come from far,

And thy daughters shall be borne on the side.
5 Then thou shalt look, and brighten up ;
Yea, thy heart shall throb and dilate ;

1, 2. So evident isit that Jerusalem
is here addressed, that the LXX.,
Vulg., Targ., and Saadias, have in-
serted the term. The first mentioned
version has, Φωτίζου φωτίζου "lepov-
σαλὴμ: as if the translator had read
“Hx He. Comp. chap. li. 17, hi. 1, 2.
By the images of light and darkness
in these verses are meant a state of
trouble and distress on the one hand,
and of prosperity and joy on the
other. While the different nations
shall be involved in the awful ca-
lamities connected with the overthrow
of the Antichristian confederacy, Dan.
xii, 1, 6, 7; Rev. xviii. xix., the pe-
culiar favour of Jehovah shall be
manifested towards the Jews. To
express this more forcibly, two figures
are employed ; the one taken from
the rising of the sun, and the other
from the visible glory or splendour
which the Israelites beheld in the
wilderness. There may also be a re-
ference to the contrasted circum-
stances of the Israelites and Egyptians,
Exod. xiv. 19—24.

3. The report of the distinguished
excellence and felicity of the restored
church will bring strangers, and even
monarchs, to view and participate in
her blessedness.

4. The reference in 05> is not to
those spoken of in the preceding verse,
but to the sons and daughters,—the
future inhabitants of Jerusalem,—

mentioned immediately after. These
shall come from the most distant
parts whither they shall have been
scattered. 72 Y does not mean at the
side, in the sense of being near, but oz
the side, in reference to the Oriental
custom of carrying children astride
upon the hip, while they cling to the
side of those who bear them. LXX.
ἐπ᾽ ὥμων ἀρθήσονται, shall be carried on
the shoulders. The idea of nursing,
which also attaches to 3 Ν, is not so
natural in this place as that of bearing
or carrying, which is, indeed, the
proper signification of the term, in
application to the nursing of a child.
See Numb. xi. 12; Isa. lxvi. 12.

5. For 377, thou shalt see, fifty-four
MSS., originally eleven, probably three
more, now one other, and the Soncin.
edition, read NYA, thou shalt fear, of
which Abenezra, Vitringa, Lowth, Mi-
chaelis hesitatingly, Doderlein, Dathe,
Hensler, Gesenius, Moller, Boothroyd,
Jenour, Jones, Noyes, and Scholz,
approve. On the other hand, the
common reading is supported by the
LXX., Targ., Vulg., Syr., Saad., and is
adopted by Tingstadius, Hitzig, and
Maurer. Though, if viewed in con-
nexion with the following hemistich,
the proposed emendation might ap-
pear the more natural, yet the repe-
tition of 783, from ver. 4, is quite
admissible, and may actually have
come from the pen of the prophet.

EE ee ee

CHAP. 1Χ.]

ISAIAH.

439

For the riches of the sea shall be turned to thee,
The wealth of the nations shall come to thee.
6 A multitude of camels shall cover thee,
The young camels of Midian and Ephah ;
All those of Sheba shall come ;
They shall bear gold and frankincense,
And publish the praises of Jehovah.
7 All the sheep of Kedar shall be collected for thee ;
The rams of Nebaioth shall serve thee ;

m7, usually rendered ¢o fear, signifies
here ¢o palpitate, throb, as the heart
does in excessive joy. 72 signifies
both ¢o flow, as water, and ¢o shine, be

bright, &e,
splenduit. Arab. bg, dies. The latter

signification alone suits in this place,
and expresses the cheerful indications
of inward joy experienced by Jeru-
salem. Theod. χαρήση; the Arab.

Braga 'y—The sea is, as frequently,

put for the maritime nations of the
west. Thus the Targ. xiqv2 Wy, the
wealth of the West. Comp. Deut.
xXxxiil. 19.

6, 7. From the merchants who
traded in ships on the Mediterranean,
and the nations of the west with
which they had intercourse, the pro-
phet turns to the rich merchants and
the possessors of flocks in Arabia, and
shews that they would be equally
forward to minister to the wants of
Zion. 022 are not dromedaries, but

young camels, Comp. the Arab. x

Comp. the Syr. δι

and ἃς » parvus camelus, vel juvencus.

The term for dromedaries is 117272, for
which, see chap. lxvi.20. The camel,
owing to his hardiness, his endurance
of thirst, and the scanty food on
which he is capable of subsisting, is
well fitted to be a beast of burden in

] dws the ship of the desert.—

The places here specified all lay in
Arabia; and as the inhabitants of
that country have not been subject
to the changes which those nations
have undergone that lay more directly
in the way of the great conquerors of
antiquity, their descendants occupy
nearly the same positions, and follow
the same occupations.—}71, Midian.
The tribes that went by this name
appear to have inhabited the country
between the northern extremity of
the Arabian Gulf and Arabia Felix,
and the plains of Moab, They were
descended from Abraham by Keturah,
Gen. xxv. 2, 4, and carried on a trade
by caravans between Gilead and Egypt,
as early as the days of Jacob. Abul-
feda describes the ruins of a town

called wpe on the east side of the

above-mentioned gulf, in which di-
rection we find a Mndiava spoken of
by Ptol. v. 17, and a Madujvn_by
Joseph. Antiq. ii. 11, 1.—py, LXX.
Γαιφά, Hphah, occurs in connexion
with Midian, Gen. xxv. 4; 1 Chron.
i. 33. Bochart, Hieron. i. 81, 82,
compares the” Ἵππος of Ptolemy, which
the latter writer places near to Mndiava.
—By x2, Sheba, is meant Arabia
Felix, or the regions between the
Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, now
called the Hejaz. It abounded in
spices, 1 Kings x. 2; Jer. vi. 20;

desert countries, and is employed for, ,Ezek. xxvii. 22; especially in frank-

this purpose, in all parts of the East,
but in none more than Arabia. Some
of them will carry ten hundred weight,
though generally their loads are not
heavy. The camel is hence not in-
appropriately called by the Arabs,

incense ; and in gold and precious
stones, Ps. xxii. 15. Its inhabitants
carried on a great trade, not only in
their native productions, but also
in Indian and Phoenician articles.
According to Strabo, xvi., their

440

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. LX.

They shall willingly ascend my altar,
And my beauteous house I will beautity.
8 Who are these, that fly like a cloud ?
And like doves to their windows ?
9 Surely, the maritime lands shall wait for me,
And the ships of Tarshish first ;

To bring thy sons from afar,

Their silver and their gold with them ;

principal city was called Mariaba, (the
present bo» about sixty miles to

the N. E. of Sanaa,) though its ancient
name, as occurring in Diod.. Sic.
111. 47, is Saba. It is now generally
agreed that it was the queen of this
country who paid the celebrated visit
to Solomon, 1 Kings x. 1—13. The
Ὁ in 0% has for its antecedent not
m3, &c. but the inhabitants or mer-
chants understood—For Ἢρ, Kedar,
see on chap. xxi. 16.—nn, the Ne-
batheans, comprehended the principal
tribes of Arabia Petreea, occupying
a middle place between the Midianites
and the inhabitants of Sheba. They
appear anciently to have been divided
in their occupations ; some carrying
on a lucrative trade with caravans,
and others addicting themselves ex-
clusively to the nomadic life. The
latter are described by Diodorus Sic.
as deeming it unlawful to cultivate
the ground or. trees ; to drink wine ;
and to build houses.—Whatever the
descendants of these Oriental tribes
may possess shall be cheerfully placed
at the disposal of the restored Jews.
This is beautifully expressed by re-
presenting the animals selected for
sacrifice as mounting the altars of
their own accord. There shall be no
want of any thing that is required for
the full restoration of Divine worship,
when the mosque of Omar shall give
place to a new temple to be erected
for the celebration of the services of
that ministration which exceedeth in
glory, 2 Cor. 111. 8—11. pty and
}zY are not synonymous. The latter
signifies for acceptance, acceptably ; the
former, here used, with pleasure, delight,
or good-will.

8. The verb ΠΡ ΡΠ is in the femi-

nine plural, as a kind of absolute ;
there being no substantive expressed
or understood to which to refer it. It
thus quite accords with the indefinite
character of the interrogation. See
Nordheimer’s Heb. Gram. § 737. 1, 2.
The ideas conveyed by the images
here employed are those of number
and velocity. The reference to the
doves is beautifully illustrated by a
passage in Morier’s Second Journey in
Persia. Speaking of the pigeon-houses
near Ispahan, he says: “ They are
large round towers, rather broader at
the bottom than the top, crowned by
conical spiracles, through which the
pigeons descend. Their interior re-
sembles a honey-comb, pierced with
a thousand holes, each of which forms
a snug retreat fora nest. The extra-
ordinary flights of pigeons which I
have seen upon one of these buildings,
afford perhaps a good illustration of
Isaiah lx. 8. Their great numbers,
and the compactness of their mass,
literally looked like a cloud at a
distance, and obscured the sun in
their passage.” The persons referred
to are the Jews, who now flock in
immense numbers from all quarters,
to the land of their fathers, and
Jerusalem, the summit of their earthly
oy.

‘ 9. The inhabitants of the west, es-
pecially those which carry on maritime
traffic, spiritually converted to God,
shall lay their ships and wealth under
contribution, to the accomplishment
of the purposes of God relating to the
restoration of the Jews to Palestine,
and to the further advancement of
the Divine glory. 72Ux3, LXX. ἐν
πρώτοις, “among the first.” Twenty-
five MSS. and the Syr. read 720872),
i.e. as formerly, in reference to the

CHAP. LX.]|

ISATAH.

441

To the name of Jehovah thy God,
And to the Holy One of Israel who hath beautified thee.

10

The sons of strangers also shal! build thy walls,

And their kings shall serve thee ;
Though in my wrath I smote thee,
Yet in my good pleasure I will pity thee.

11

Thy gates also shall be open continually ;

They shall not be shut by day, nor by night ;
That the wealth of the nations may be brought into thee,
And their kings conducted along.

12
perish ;

For the nation and the kingdom that will not serve thee, shall

Yea, those nations shall be utterly destroyed.

13

The glory of Lebanon shall come to thee,

The cypress, the larch, and the pine together ;
To beautify the place of my sanctuary,
And I will make the place of my feet glorious.
14 The sons also of thine oppressors shall come crouching to thee ;

assistance rendered by the Tyrians to
Solomon. For “the ships of Tar-
shish,” see on chap. xxi. 10. The
suffix in 02D) and 03m is to be referred
to the Jews, and not to the commercial
powers. Their property as well as
themselves shall be conveyed, free of
charge, to Palestine. Many of them
living in remote parts, can only con-
veniently return by sea.

10. By 122723 are meant foreigners—
Gentiles, such as had been accounted
ΞΈΝΟΙ τῶν διαθηκῶν τῆς ἐπαγγελίας,
but now συμπολῖται τῶν ἁγίων καὶ
οἰκεῖοι τοῦ Θεοῦ, Eph. 11.12, 19. Such
shall count it an honour to be em-
ployed in rebuilding Jerusalem, and,
im any way, contributing to the re-
covery of the lost happiness of Israel.
Monarchs shall regard it as a privilege
to aid in the work, by employing
whatever legitimate influence they
may possess in advancing it.

11. The idea conveyed by the gates
never being shut, is that of the con-
tinual arrival of the multitudes re-
ferred to. Modern travellers greatly
complain of the inconvenience to
which they are put, when they do
not reach Jerusalem before the gates
are closed. The Apostle John borrows

the language in his description of the
new Jerusalem, Rev. xxi. 25. The

‘ideas of security and peace are implied.

—o 7) may either signify /ed along in
chains, as captives, and thus the
Targ. and Hitzig ; or in procession,
by their devoted attendants, which
seems the more natural interpretation,

12. There is obviously a meiosis in
this verse. The absence of active aid
is construed into positive hostility,
and punished accordingly. Comp.
Judges v. 23.

13. For the trees here specified, see
on chap. xli. 19. A literal temple, or
house of worship, being intended, the
language must be literally explained.
From all that appears to be the state
of Palestine in regard to wood, supplies
from Lebanon will be as necessary as
they were when the ancient temple
was constructed. “The place of”
Jehovah's “feet,” is parallel to “the
place of ” his “sanctuary ;” viz. Jeru-
salem.

14. Jerusalem hath literally been
“trodden down” by many nations,
Luke xxi. 24; and her scattered sons
have been subject to greater calamities,
arising from rapine and massacre, than
any people under heaven. Not only

442

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. LX.

Yea, all that despised thee shall prostrate themselves at the

soles of thy feet ;

And shall call thee, The City of Jehovah,
Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

15 Instead of thy having been deserted and hated,
So that no one passed through thee,
I will make thee an eternal excellency,
The joy of successive generations.

16 Thou shalt also suck the milk of the nations;
Yea, the breast of kings thou shalt suck ;
And shalt know that I, Jehovah, am thy Saviour,
And thy Redeemer, the Protector of Jacob.

17 Instead of copper, I will bring gold ;
And instead of iron, 1 will bring silver ;

And instead of wood, copper ;

and instead of stones, iron ;

And I will make thy overseers peaceful,

And thy rulers righteous.

in the East, but in almost every
country of Europe, the most violent
and tragical outrages have been com-
mitted upon them. The descendants
of her oppressors, however, will ac-
knowledge the wrongs that have been
done to her, and humbly crave a share
in her privileges. Instead of jr,
Zion, Hitzig reads ΤῊΣ, cippus, a pillar,
but violently in such connexion.
mms, the construct punctuation for
minw, the absolute.

15, nn merely expresses, zz exchange
for ; though from the circumstances of
the case the idea of compensation is
necessarily implied. 0%¥ is here used,
as in many other places, for a period
of long and unknown duration.

16. A repetition, in somewhat dif-
ferent language, of what is predicted,
verses 3,5, 10, and 11. Comp. Rev.
xxi, 24. “Sucking the breast of
kings” is unusual, and by fastidious
critics may be deemed unnatural ; but
the phrase is merely employed for the
purpose of carrying out more effi-
ciently the idea taught in the preced-
ing clause ; viz. that abundant contri-
butions would be made by the inhabi-
tants of the different nations to the
sustenance of Zion. Kings are intro-
duced on account of their greater

wealth and influence, which they shall
now expend upon the cause of God,
instead of squandering them, as for-
merly, upon objects of vanity and sin.
For Ὅν, Protector, see on chap. i. 24.
17. For the repeated use of 7m in
this verse, comp. chap. 111. 24. Such
identity of style corroborates the
authenticity of the present portion of
the book. The temporal prosperity of
the restored Israelites shall resemble
that of their ancestors in the days
of Solomon, 1 Kings x. 27; 2 Chron.
ix. 20, 27. N37, the LXX. doubtless
rendered τοὺς ἐπισκόπους σου, thine in-
spectors or bishops, though these words
and τοὺς apxovras σου, thy rulers, the
proper rendering of 7025, have, in the
course of transcription, exchanged
places. Both terms are here used to
designate the office-bearers, or rulers
of the restored Jewish community,—
the one, those who shall superintend
its spiritual, and the other, those who
shall administer its temporal, affairs.
Comp. the use of ἐπισκοπὴ, 1 Tim. 11].
1, and the combination ἐπίσκοποι καὶ
διάκονοι, Philip. i. 1. This is the only
passage in which ‘33 is used in a good
sense, It otherwise signifies a task-
master, a collector of tribute, or an
oppressive ruler. Instead of being, as

CHAP. 1,Χ.]

ISAIAH.

445

18 Violence shall no more be heard in thy land,
Nor devastation or destruction within thy borders ;
But thou shalt call thy walls, Salvation,

And thy gates, Praise.
19

The sun shall no more be for light to thee by day,

Neither shall the moon enlighten thee with brightness ;
For Jehovah shall be to thee an everlasting light,
And thy God shall be thy beauty.

20 Thy sun shall no more set,

Neither shall thy moon withdraw herself ;
For Jehovah shall be to thee an everlasting light,
And the days of thy mourning shall be ended.

21

And as for thy people, they shall all of them be righteous ;

They shall inherit the land for ever ;
The branch of my planting, the work of my hands,

That I may be glorified.
22

The little one shall become a thousand,

And the small one a mighty nation :
I, Jehovah, will hasten it in its season.

formerly, contentious and unjust, the
Jewish officers shall seek to promote
peace, and satisfy the just claims of all
who are under their government.
ove and API are the abstract used
for the concrete.

18. Oppression and war shall no
more be known. The most perfect
security shall be enjoyed; and the
very gates shall re-echo the praises of
Jehovah.

19, 20. These verses further depict,
in language of the most sublime
imagery, the superlative degree of
happiness which shall be enjoyed by
the new and holy Jerusalem church.
Its ordinary sources shall no longer be
thought of. Jehovah himself shall be
found to be a glorious and unfailing
fountain of joy. “ Lux Jove (i.e. for-
tuna tua prospera, cujus Jova auctor
erit) tanta est futura, ut pro nihilo
zstimanda sit lux solis aut lune.”
Maurer. The language is ad sensum
quoted and applied to the same state
of things, Rev. xxi. 23, xxii. 5. The
LXX. and Targ. have read, or at least
supplied, 72°, which may have origin-
ally been omitted by an ellipsis. The

concluding words of ver. 20, furnish
a key to the meaning of both verses.

21. Comp. Rev. xxi. 27, and 7. The
character of the inhabitants of Zion
shall be in accordance with the dignity
of their privileges. In support of
the Keri ‘Yo. we have the authority
of forty-four MSS., and seven others
originally, and that of the Syr., Vulg.,
and Targ.; according to which the
restoration of the Jews is, under a
beautiful figure, directly ascribed to
Jehovah. Comp. chap. 1xi. 3.

22. The Jews, who are compara-
tively few in number in any country,
and are despised by those among
whom they live, shall form a nume-
rous and powerful nation when con-
gregated in their own land. Malte
Brun estimates their present number
at between four and five millions.
The period of their return is not
specified by the prophet, but he
speaks of it as fixed and definite:
mnyi, at its proper season, the period
appointed for its taking place. For
its certainty, the Divine declaration is
a sufficient guarantee.

444

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. LXI.

CHAPTER LXI.

The same subject is here continued. The recovery of Israel formed an im-
portant part of the Messiah’s commission, which he is introduced as assert-
ing, 1—3. Brought back to their own land, they shall rebuild its cities
that have long lain desolate, 4 ; foreigners shall perform their more menial
labours, while they addict themselves to the services of religion, amply
supported by the rich contributions of those who live in other countries, 5,
6; and full compensation shall be made to them for all the infamy and
pillage to which they have been subject, 7—9. Not only restored exter-
nally, but invested with moral excellence, they raise a hymn of praise for
the wonderful change which they have experienced, 10, 11.

1 THe Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me ;

For Jehovah hath anointed me,

To publish glad tidings to the afflicted,

He hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives,

And to those that are bound, complete deliverance ;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of Jehovah,

And the day of vengeance of our God ;

To comfort all that mourn ;

1—3. That the speaker in this pas-
sage is not the prophet himself, as
maintained by Michaelis, van der Palm,
Rosenmiiller, Gesenius, Hitzig, and
Scholz, but the Great Messiah, I can-
not but contend, on the highest pos-
sible authority. On reading the words
to the Jews assembled in the syna-
gogue at Nazareth, while their eyes
were intently fixed upon him, he
most unequivocally applied them to
his own commission, and proceeded to
explain their cheering import to the
people, Luke iv. 16—22. No principle
of accommodation, or of secondary
application, can at all satisfy the
claims of the announcement, “This
day is this scripture fulfilled in your
ears.” It must, however, be observed,
that this completion merely lay in our
Lord’s entering upon the public dis-
charge of his prophetic office among

the Jews. Far from being confined
to the instructions of that particular
day, it was to be exercised in perpe-
tuity, during the continuance of the
church upon earth, and pre-eminently,
as it respects the Jews, at the future
period here referred to.—The Messiah
first announces the source of his quali-
fications for the office of Teacher—
the influences of the Divine Spirit.
Comp. chap. xi. 2. He then enume-
rates the principal features of the
character of those to whom he was
commissioned to impart relief—the
afflicted, the broken-hearted, the cap-
tives, the prisoners, the mourners, and
the desponding. These terms are ac-
cumulated in order to express more
forcibly the awful state of spiritual
misery and distress in which they are
naturally involved, and from which he
was sent to rescue them. Such will

CHAP. LXI.|

ISAIAH.

445

3 ΤῸ make glad the mourners in Zion ;
To give them beauty instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The garment of praise instead of a desponding spirit ;
And they shall be called, the Trees of Righteousness,
The Plantation of Jehovah; that he may be glorified.
4 Then shall they build up the ancient ruins,
They shall raise up the former desolations ;
And they shall renovate the waste cities,
The desolations of successive generations,
5 Strangers also shall stand and feed your flocks ;
Yea, the sons of the alien shall be your ploughmen and

vine-dressers.

6 But ye shall be called, The Priests of Jehovah ;
Ye shall be named, The Servants of our God:

pre-eminently be the condition of the
Jews when God visits them in mercy
in the latter day. See Zech. xi. 9—14.
Do» is derived from 73%, to lead, lead
captive, subdue, afflict, humble, &c.; and
may either signify the afflicted, or the
humble, meek, &c. according to the con-
nexion. In the present instance the
former acceptation is the more appro-
priate.
which Hitzig approves ; and this ren-
dering is retained by Luke. The
terms “captives” and “ prisoners”
are to be taken metaphorically, and
have no reference to external re-
straint. Comp. Job xl. 10. WW is
specially used of the liderty granted to
slaves, when they were manumitted
at the jubilee, which, on this account,
was called W717 Πρ, the year of liberty,
Ezek. xlvi. 17. Instead of TPT,
twelve MSS., and the Complut. Edit.,
read ΠΡ, thus presenting one word
in the reduplicate form, for the sake
of intensity. Some, with De Dieu,

compare the Ethiop. (BP qh: a chain,

and the Chald. 777, the same; and
render, fo open the prison, a3 in our
Common Version; but the former
seems preferable, especially as it has
the support of the LXX., Vulg., Targ.,
and Saad. For the form, comp, %”An»,
Deut. xxxii. 5. The meaning is a com-

‘

The LXX. have πτωχοῖς, of

plete opening of the prison. After ov
supply ivy. In ἫΝ nom we is an
elegant paronomasia.

The “day of vengeance,” here con-
nected with the “acceptable year of
the Lord,” designates the period of
Judgment referred to chap. lix. 18, 19,
—the punishment of the last Anti-
christ. By piza-?s are not meant
geseqnete Terebinthen, as Gesenius ren-
ders, nor oaks of truth, as Lowth ex-
plains them, but frees producing right-
eousness as their fruit. Comp. Phil. i.
11. is here used generically.

4, 5. These verses admit of no con-
sistent interpretation, except on the
principle that the Jews are to be re-
stored to the land of their fathers.
The ruins and desolations are those
of cities that had once been inhabi-
ted ; and cannot, without the utmost
violence, be applied to the heathen
world. 2x) Ποῦ, Gesenius renders,
the desolations of the forefathers, but less
aptly than taking Dts) adjectively.

6. Comp. Exod. xix. 6. The lan-
guage implies holiness, spirituality,
and devotedness to the service of God.
So abundant shall be the supplies,
that there shall be no absorption of
time by the cares and distractions of
business. W2N7, the Hithp. of 12x,

Arab, ys to command, order ; hence

3K

440

ISATAH.

[CHAP. LXI.

Ye shall consume the wealth of the nations,
And have their riches at your command.
7 Instead of your shame, there shall be double;
And instead of ignominy, they shall rejoice in their portion ;
For in their land they shall inherit the double,
They shall have everlasting joy.

8 For I, Jehovah, love justice,

I hate the rapine of wickedness ;

And I will faithfully grant their reward,

And make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 And their seed shall be known among the nations,
_ And their offspring among the people;

All that see them shall acknowledge them,

That they are a seed whom Jehovah hath blessed.

10

I will greatly rejoice in Jehovah ;

My soul shall exult in my God:

For he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation ;
He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness ;

As the bridegroom dresseth himself splendidly,

Or as the bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

11

For as the earth causeth her produce to come forth,

And as the garden causeth the things sown in it to grow up,
So the Lord Jehovah shall cause righteousness to spring up,
And praise, before all the nations.

pels an emir. Others, to change, have

in exchange, to have, or enjoy instead of
another.

7. The Jews have been the subjects
of ignominy among all nations. When
restored, the honour conferred upon
them by Jehovah, and the estimation
in which they shall be held by believ-
ing Gentiles, will far overbalance the
contempt in which they have been
held. Sn, double, ie. ample, full.
See on chap. xl. 2. The change of
person we have often had occasion to
notice.

8. 73» the same as MY. Thus the

Syr. os , and several MSS. By “the

rapine of injustice” is meant what is
taken away unjustly. The 2 in mva
is that of instrument; LXX. ἁρπάγ-
para ἐξ ἀδικίας. Comp. Job v. 16;

Ps. lviii. 3, lxiv. 7. The reference is
to the acts of flagrant injustice which
have been committed on the Jews by
the Gentile nations, among which
they have been scattered.

9, Ὁ in D> is pleonastic.

10, 11. Jerusalem, as the represen-
tative of the Jews, joyfully and grate-
fully raises a hymn of praise to her
great Deliverer. Instead of any longer
sitting in the dust, in squalid attire,
and with a downcast look, she is
decked in the most splendid festal
garments. 773, fo officiate as priest;
here ¢o appear as a priest, thus officiat-
ing; Aq. ὡς νύμφιον ἱερατευομένον
στεφάνῳ; Symm. according to the
meaning, κεκοσμημένον στεφάνῳ ; and
so the Vulg. The allusion is to the
mitre and golden crown of the high
priest when fully attired. For ver. 11,
comp. chap. xlv. 8; Ps. Ixxxy. 11, 12.

ISATAH. 447

CHAP. LXII.|

CHAPTER LXII.

This chapter contains a further development of the happy condition of the
Jewish people, when brought to the knowledge of the Messiah. This deve-
lopment is furnished in vers. 2, 3,4, and 5. In vers. 1 and 6, the Messiah
himself is introduced as interesting himself for the prosperity of Zion, and
calling upon those whom he had appointed to superintend her affairs to be
unremitting in their supplications on her behalf, 7. And, after announcing
the oath of Jehovah, pledging the exercise of his omnipotence to her resto-
ration, 8, 9, and directing every preparation to be made, 10, the prophet,
in one of his finest strains, presents to view the advent of the Saviour for
the recovery of the Jews, and the happy state of Jerusalem, when rebuilt,

and inhabited by a holy and sincerely religious people, 11, 12,

1 For the sake of Zion I will not be silent,
Nor, for the sake of Jerusalem, will I be quiet,
Till her righteousness go forth as brightness,
And her salvation as a blazing torch.

2 Then shall the nations behold thy righteousness,

And all kings thy glory ;

And thou shalt be called by a new name,
Which the mouth of Jehovah shall express.
3 And thou shalt be a beautiful crown in the hand of Jehovah,

1. There is considerable doubt re-
specting the speaker in this verse.
The prophet, the Messiah, the Jewish
people, and Jehovah, have each been
supposed to be intended. The second
opinion seems decidedly entitled to
the preference, on the ground of the
frequency with which the Redeemer
is thus abruptly introduced by our
prophet. Through his mediatorial
intercession the Jews shall be restored
to their standing in the Church of
God.

2. It is here predicted that Israel
shall be invested with a character
altogether new—the result of the
change effected by the gracious inter-
position of Jehovah. That 0 is not

to be understood of a mere name, but
has special reference to state and
character, is obvious from the common
idiom by which any thing is said to
be called what it really is. See chap.
1. 26, 73, to penetrate, cut, hew, mark,
express by distinct signs ; hence, distin-
guish y name, Nurab. i. 17.

3. It has been thought by some
that there is a want of congruity in
representing the crown as in the
hand, instead of its being upon the
head ; but it must be obvious, that
with no propriety whatever could the
church be spoken of as placed on the
head of Jehovah. The language is
designed to teach the high estimation
in which Jerusalem shall be held by

448

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. LXII.

And a royal diadem in the palm of thy God.
4 Thou shalt no more be called, Forsaken ;
Neither shall thy land be any more termed, Desolate ;
But thou shalt be called, My-delight-is-in-her ;
And thy land, The Married Woman:
For Jehovah shall delight in thee,
And thy land shall be married.
5 For as a young man marrieth a virgin,
So shall they that build thee marry thee ;
And as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride,
So shall thy God rejoice over thee.
6 Upon thy walls, O Jerusalem! have I appointed watchmen,
That shall never be silent the whole of the day nor the whole

of the night ;

Ye that make mention of Jehovah, be not silent :

7 Neither allow him to be silent,

Till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem

A praise in the earth.

the Most High, and her perfect secu-
rity under his protection. 23 is
properly a turban or tiara wound
round the head; and, as worn by
Eastern monarchs, studded with the
most valuable jewels. The word is
thus exhibited in the Keri, and in
three MSS. in the text, instead of
FM, the usual Chethib.

4. As the names here specified are
merely symbolical, and will never be
employed as proper names, I have
deemed it right to give them in a
translated form, rather than retain
them. Indeed, their exhibition in
this form alone renders the concluding
lines of the verse intelligible. Hephzi-
bah was otherwise the name of the
mother of Manasseh, 2 Kings xxi. 1.

5. The correlatives 1x) and 2 are
twice to be supplied in this verse.
Yet there is no reason to suppose,
with Lowth, that they ever existed in
the text. Their absence is nothing
more than a poetical ellipsis. Instead
of 723, thy sons, Lowth, Koppe, Mi-
chaelis, Déderlein, v. d. Palm, Ting-
stadius, Méller, and others, point 1.33,
thy builders, and consider the plural

to be used for the singular, as 7 Ὁ,
chap. liv. 5,—Jehovah being meant in
both instances. To this it cannot be
objected, that when plural attributives
are ascribed to the Deity, the verb is
put in the singular, and not in the
plural as we here find p yn; for
though this holds as a general rule,
yet there are exceptions, as Gen. xx.
13, xxxv. 7;.2 Sam. vii. 23.° Such
construction is required by the corre-
sponding position of ΤΠ in the
parallel member of the verse, and at
once removes the incongruous image
of sons marrying their own mother.

6,7. The speaker is still the Mes-
siah, who declares that he would place
faithful teachers in Jerusalem, and
charges them to be incessant in
prayer for her complete restoration,
and the extension of her fame through-
out the world. The mention of “the
walls” proves that the reference is
not to the priests and Levites who
kept watch about the temple, as
Lowth supposes, but to those who
were appointed to watch the city
itself. Comp. xxi. 6, 8, 11, lii. 8, lvi.
10; Hab. 11. 1.

CHAP. LXII.] ISAIAH. 449

8 Jehovah hath sworn by his right hand, and by his mighty arm ;
I will no more give thy corn for food to thine enemies ;
Neither shall the sons of the alien drink thy wine,

For which thou hast laboured.

9 But they that reap it shall eat it,

And shall praise Jehovah ;

And they that bring it in, shall drink it

In my holy courts.

Pass through, pass through the gates ;

Prepare the way for the people ;

Cast up, cast up the highway ;

Clear it of stones ;

Raise a banner for the people.

11 Behold! Jehovah proclaimeth to the end of the earth :

Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold! thy Saviour cometh ;
Behold! his reward is with him,
And his recompense before him.

Then shall they be called, The Holy People; The Redeemed

10

12

of Jehovah ;

And thou shalt be called, frequented ;

The City Unforsaken.

8, 9. The enemies of Israel having
all been swept away by the powerful
judgments of God, the most perfect
tranquillity shall reign throughout
the land, and those who may go up
to worship at Jerusalem shall enjoy
unmolested the fruit of their labour.

10. This verse contains a call to
the inhabitants of the cities that may
lie in the way of the returning Israel-
ites, to go forth and remove every
obstacle that impeded their progress.
By vara, as well as ova, the peculiar
people are intended.

11. The “daughter of Zion” means

here the rightful inhabitants of Jeru-
salem, 7.¢. the Jews scattered over the
face of the earth. Comp. chap. i. 8,
xxill. 10. To them the announcement
is made. That “salvation” is used
metonymically for “Saviour,” the
following pronominal affixes shew.
Comp. chap. xl. 5, 9, 10, which is
strictly parallel in language, though
the advents in the two passages are
different.

12. The Jews shall now be a holy
people, redeemed from all iniquity,
and thronging their ancient capital
for religious purposes.

450 ISAIAH. [CHAP. LXIII.

CHAPTER LXITITI.

The first six verses of this chapter appear, at first sight, to stand quite insu-
lated, and to admit of no interpretation in connexion with the subject
treated of in the preceding and subsequent context. They have accordingly
been regarded by many as merely a fragment of some other prophecy,
which has, by mistake, found its way into this portion of the book. On
closer attention being paid, however, to the character and scope of the
chapter, there seems great propriety in bringing forward, in this place, the
destruction of Idumeea, as an instance of Jehovah’s interposing goodness in
behalf of the Jewish nation. The object of the prophet is to deduce an
argument from God’s dealings with his ancient people, in favour of his
graciously regarding them in their then distantly future dispersion ; but,
instead of commencing with the deliverance from Egypt, he begins with
the last which they should have experienced as a nation; viz. that which
took place when the Idumzean power was subverted, according to the special
predictions contained in chap. xxxiv. The passage, therefore, contains no
new prophecy, but merely the adduction of a fact already predicted, for the
sake of illustration. To apply it to any future judgments to be inflicted on
the country formerly occupied by the Edomites, is equally unjustifiable with
the attempt to apply it figuratively to the future enemies of the Church in
general, or to the Roman Antichrist in particular. See Introd. to chap.
XXXIV.

The subject of Divine interposition, for the destruction of the Edomites, is
beautifully brought out in a dramatic form,’by the introduction of two
interrogations; the reply to the last of which completely exhausts it, 1—6 ;
a brief review is then taken of other signal acts of Divine loving-kindness
towards Israel, notwithstanding the rebelliousness of that people, 7—14 ;
and the.rest of the chapter is occupied with pleadings for a renewal of such
gracious interference for their ultimate deliverance, 15—19.

1 Wuo is this that cometh from Edom ?

1. In prophetic vision, a triumphant
conqueror is discovered, arrayed in
military attire, and returning from
Idumza,—the scene of battle and vic-
tory. To excite attention, the ques-
tion is put—who can he be? To
which he himself replies, in language
which leaves us at no loss to doubt,
that he is the Divine Loagos or

SPEAKER, who, from the beginning,
revealed the will of God to men;
and, as the Angel or Messenger of
the Divine presence, acted as the Pro-
tector and Saviour of ancient Israel.
See ver. 9. This interpretation, which
is that adopted by most commenta-
tors, both ancient and modern, alone
satisfies the claims of the passage ;

CHAP. LXIII. |

In purple array from Bozrah ?

ISAIAH.

451

This, that is glorious in his apparel,
Advancing stately in the greatness of his strength ?
It is I, the Announcer of righteousness,—

Mighty to save.
2 Why is thine apparel red ?

And thy garments like those of him that treadeth in the wine-

vat ?

3 I have trodden the wine-press by myself,
And of the people no man was with me ;

Yea, I trod them in my anger,

And trampled them in my fury;

but nothing can be more preposterous,
or more directly at variance with the
entire spirit of it, than the applica-
tion which some have made of it to
the victory which he obtained upon
the cross. y127 is well explained by
Bochart, Hieroz. i. lib. ii. cap. vii., of
the brilliancy of scarlet affecting the
eye, as the sharpness of vinegar does
the palate. He instances the Greek
χρῶμα ὀξύ, πορφύραι ὀξύταται, ὀξυ-
φέγγη, ἕο. The verb properly signi-
fies to ferment, become acid. Comp. the
sf

Syr. potas acidus factus est ; and the
Arab. Ure» acidus fuit. Some are

of opinion that the garment here
spoken of means the purple cloak of
a military general; but it seems more
natural to explain it by verses 2 and
3, in which it is represented as made
red by the blood of the enemy having
been sprinkled upon it. Comp. Rey.
xix. 13, “περιβεβλημένος ἱ ἱμάτιον βεβαμ-
μένον αἵματι, which is obviously bor-
rowed from this passage in Isaiah,—
‘O AOTOS, the name there given to
the warrior corresponding exactly to
1272, by which he here characterises
himself, mys signifies ¢o turn, move in
any way ; here, to proceed with the
head tossed or turned back, indicating
the proud mien of the triumphant
warrior.—3 in 7772 is to be taken in
the sense of concerning, in regard to ;
“JT that speak respecting righteous-
ness,” announce, or make it known.
For instances, see Noldius.

2. For the treading in the wine-
press, see on chap. xvi. 10, and comp.,
for its figurative application to the
discomfiture of enemies in battle,
Lam.1.15; Joel iii. 13; Rev. xix. 15.
In 08, red, is evidently an allusion to
DIN, ver. 1. Instead of > qwy, fifty-six
MSS. , originally three more, and the
Penta. Prag. 1518, the TX, . and
Syr. read spun} in the plural.

3. 2 occurs only here and Hag.
ii. 16. It comes from ὙΒ, fo break,
break in pieces. Hence it signifies the
place where the grapes are broken by
treading. Mz, an unusual term, em-
ployed here and ver. 6, to denote dlood.
It properly signifies the juice or liquor
which is spirted from the grape. LXX.
αἷμᾳ ; Lowth, /ife-blood. Comp. the

Arab. ce , conspersit: and the Eth.

5H: which is used of the sprinkling

of blood, Heb. ix.19,—F>s28 stands for
HINT, and i is, in all probability, to be
ascribed to some copyist, who, being
familiar with the Aramaic, in which
xis the preformant, instead of the 7
in Hebrew, substituted the one for
the other. The change has occasioned
a trifling variety of reading in a couple
of MSS., but none reads °n?827. —
When the victor declares, that none
of the people or nations rendered
him any assistance in the attack upon
Edom, he refers to the fact, that ven-
geance had not been taken upon that
nation, as it had been upon Tyre,
Moab, Egypt, &c., through foreign

452

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. LXIII.

So that their blood is sprinkled on my garment,
And I have stained all my apparel.
4 For the day of vengeance was in my heart,
And the year of my redeemed was come.
5 And I looked; but there was no helper ;
And I was astonished that there was no supporter ;
Then my own arm wrought salvation for me,
And my own fury supported me.
6 Yea, I trod the people in my anger,
I even brake them in pieces in my fury ;
And I made their blood flow down to the earth.
7 I will celebrate the kindness of Jehovah,

The praises of Jehovah,

According to all that Jehovah hath bestowed upon us ;
And the great goodness toward the house of Israel,
Which he hath bestowed upon them in his tender mercies,
And according to his great kindness.

8 For he said, Surely they are my own people ;

intervention. Identifying the Jews
under the Maccabees and Hyrcanus
with himself, by whom they were
employed as native instruments, he
vindicates the glory of the deed from
all aid obtained from an extraneous
source. Comp. Ezek. xxv. 14.

4, 5. Comp. chap. lix.16. The lan-
guage in this place is strongly anthro-
popathic. Help was required, but
there was none. Assyria and Baby-
lon, that had formerly been employed
in executing the Divine judgments,
were no more. Jehovah, therefore,
led forth his own people against their
ancient enemy, and gave them the
victory. Nearly thirty MSS. read, or
have read, ‘nz, my righteousness, in-
stead of ὙΠ, my fury, and the same
reading is found in four ancient Edi-
tions ; but it is manifestly a correc-
tion from chap. lix. 16,

6. The action of treading out the
wine is repeated from ver. 3, only in
a more condensed form,.—o720x, J will
make them drunk, appears to have been
substituted for DJavx, 7 will break
them in pieces, Which is found in
twenty-three MSS., and has been ori-
ginally in thirteen more at least ; is

the reading of three Editions; and
is supported by the Targ., which
translates, poor. The difference
consists simply in the exchange of 3
for 3, many instances of which occur
in the Hebrew text. In favour of
rv, Hitzig properly adduces the use
of the preposition 1: 128 would have
been followed by the accusative, or
by the preposition 12.

7. The mind of the prophet is now
led back, by the Spirit of inspiration,
from the signal destruction of the
Edomites, to review God’s ancient fa-
vours towards the Jewish people, not-
withstanding their demerit, in order
to derive encouragement to those
who should live in the final disper-
sion, still to trust in his mercy, and
to furnish them with arguments to be
employed in their devotional applica-
tions for its renewed and glorious
exercise. From this verse to the end
of the following chapter, they are
provided with a formulary of con-
fession and supplication, couched, as
Lowth observes, in the elegiac form,
pathetic and elegant.

8. The expression of a reasonable
expectation of what the Jewish nation

CHAP. LXIII.]

ISATAH.

453

Children that will not act falsely :

So he became their Saviour.

9 In all their affliction, he was not an adversary,
For the Angel of his Presence saved them ;
In his love and in his pity he redeemed them ;
_ . And he took them up, and carried them all the days of old.
10 Yet they rebelled, and grieved his Holy Spirit,
So that he was turned to be their foe ;

should have proved, considering the
peculiar relation into which they had
been brought to Jehovah.

9. The words Ἢ 8? Ona have
occasioned no small diversity of in-
terpretation. The textual reading N°
is expressed in the LXX, Syr., Targ.,
and Vulg.; and has the suffrages of
Saadias, Jarchi, and other Rabbins,
who render, “ In all their affliction he
did not afflict them,” 2.6. so as to
abandon them to it, or leave them
in it, without pity or deliverance.
In such case, 072 must be supplied
after 1% from the pronom. affix in
omy, The 1 in 772 will then assume
the causal signification, and introduce
the reason why they were not left in
trouble. Thus also Kocher, Micha-
6115, Déderlein, Dathe, Tingstadius,
Hensler, Gesenius, Maurer, Booth-
royd, Jones, and Noyes. 1%, Auri-
villius and Michaelis take to be an
intensive masculine noun, used in
contrast with the preceding feminine
“a, and so expressive of extreme
distress. The latter writer compares
2 Cor. iv. 8, θλιβόμενοι, aAN οὐ στενο-
xopovpevot. I prefer the verbal sig-
nification ; only attaching to the word
the idea of hostility, or opposition,
so as to crush or destroy. To the
Keri 12 5, there was affliction to him, or
he was afficted, which is found in the
text of eleven MSS., and was in five or
six more originally, and is exhibited
in two of the earliest editions, it is
properly objected, that, to furnish this
sense, the order of the words must
have been 1? ἼΞ, and not 12 1. Comp.
2 Sam. i. 26. The latter interpre-
tation. however, is preferred by Moller,
Jenour, v. d. Palm, Scholz, our own
and other translators.—By v2 ἼΝ is
meant the ANGEL or MESSENGER, by

way of eminence, so frequently re-
ferred to in the Mosaic writings ;
who is therein represented as pos-
sessing the Divine Name; and who
is spoken of interchangeably with
JEHOVAH himself. The combination
of the terms Angel of his presence, is not
intended to convey the idea of an
angel accustomed to stand in the
Divine presence, but the Messenger
in and through whose person the Deity
was manifested to ancient Israel ;—
the Divine personal Representative.
Comp. Exod. xxiii. 20—23, xxxili. 14,
15, in which latter passage 022, faces,
or presence, by itself, is obviously used
in the highest personal sense.

10. wWIRIM, His Holy Spirit, is like-
wise to be taken here in a personal
sense, forasmuch as personal suscep-
tibility and actions are distinctly
ascribed to him. The simple idea of
moral purity, or opposition to all
moral evil, as existing in the Divine
mind, falls altogether short of the
conceptions suggested by the phrase
in this and numerous parallel pas-
sages of Scripture. The attribute of
holiness is predicated of the Spirit
of God, because he is the Source and
Author of that holiness which is
found in the creatures. Comp. for
the sentiment, Eph. iv. 30. The
statement made in the latter hemi-
stich is not at variance with that
made at the beginning of the pre-
ceding verse, 28 not being used in
the same intensive sense as 1%, but,
as explained by D2 077 following,
merely expressing such a degree of
opposition as was necessary to ac-
count for the “2%, affliction, with
which the Israelites were visited, with
a view to their moral benefit.

ke

484

He fought against them.

ISATAH.

[CHAP. LXIII.

11 But he remembered the ancient days—Moses and his people.
Where is he that brought up from the sea the shepherds of his

flock ?

Where is he that put his Holy Spirit within them ?

12 That made his glorious arm to go forth at the right hand of

Moses ;

Dividing the waters before them,

To make for himself an everlasting name ?
13 That led them through the deeps ?

Like a horse in the desert, they stumbled not.
14 As the cattle descend into the valley,

So the Spirit of Jehovah led them to rest:

11, Gesenius, Hitzig, and Scholz,
consider θυ, his people, to be the no-
minative to =P); but, besides its
being too remote in position, it “is
not so natural as a reference to the
preceding antecedent. ‘ny mn is
merely an asyndeton, of which several
occur in Isaiah, see chap. xxvii. 4; so
that, although the text of the LXX.
exhibits nothing corresponding to
mn, there is no reason to regard it
as a gloss. ὑπῆν, his servant, (instead
of Va», his people,) the reading of two
MSS. and one ancient edition, sup-
ported by the Syriac, though a very
natural combination with the name
‘of Moses, is not critically entitled to
adoption.—Mention having been made
of the Divine interposition in the
days of Moses, the Jews of the final
dispersion are represented as abruptly
inquiring where God now was? there
being no such visible interference on
their behalf. The description ori-
ginated by these inquiries is continued
to the end of ver. 14; and is imme-
diately followed by earnest suppli-
cations, appeals, and expostulations,
having a similar deliverance for their
object.—As nearly sivty MSS., and
little short of forty printed editions,
together with others in the margin,
and the Vulg., read ‘v4, shepherds, in
the plural, I cannot but regard the
particle ns as the sign of the accu-
sative, designed to qualify or shew
the reference of the pronominal affix
in 0990, which is here used anticipa-

tively, as in Aramaic. Or if, with a
very ancient MS. of Kennicott, and
one of De Rossi’s, celebrated for its
accuracy, and the LXX., Arab., and
Syr., we omit the affix Ὁ, which might
easily have originated in the following
word 0% beginning with the same
letter, we arrive at the same conclu-
sion. In this case “the shepherds”
will be Moses and Aaron. Comp. Ps.
Ixxvii. 20. The pronominal reference
in ia is to Nk preceding; and this
being a collective, I have rendered
it in the plural, into which it is
changed, ver. 12. 1727 is not here
to be taken in a personal sense, as in
ver. 10, but means, as in other pas-
sages in which giving, pouring out,
putting, taking away, &c. are combined
with the phrase, the operative influence
of the Holy Spirit. The extraordinary
or miraculous gifts which were vouch-
safed to ancient Israel seem specially
intended. See Numb. xi. 17; Neh.
ix. 20.

12—14. The exodus and passage

through the wilderness to Canaan are_

prominently brought out, in order
the more forcibly to advance the fol-
lowing appeals. By 7279, desert, is
here meant a level surface, uninter-
rupted by rocks, clefts, gullies, &c. to
impede animals in their course, such
as is frequently met with, to an
almost boundless extent, in many
countries of the East. Rough and
rugged as might be the rocks at the
bottom of the Red Sea, they proved

CHAP. LXIII.]

ISAIAH.

455

Thus thou didst lead thy people,
To make for thyself a glorious name.

15

Look down from heaven, and behold

From thy holy and glorious habitation ;
Where is thy zeal, and thy might?
Are the sounding of thy bowels and thy compassion towards

me restrained ?

16 Surely Thou art our Father,

Though Abraham taketh no notice of us,
And Israel doth not acknowledge us:
Thou, O Jehovah! art our Father, our Redeemer ;

Thy name.is from eternity.
17
ways ?

Why, O Jehovah! hast thou made us to wander from thy

Why hast thou hardened our heart, that we should not fear

thee ?

Return, for the sake of thy servants,
The tribes of thine inheritance.

no obstacle to the progress of the
Israelites. One MS., the LXX., Arab.,
Syr., Targ., and Vulg., read 727, thou
didst lead them, from ™2; but the
same idea of leading is implied in
the common reading, which is the
Hiph. of ™:, fo rest. The second
hemistich of ver. 14, embodies the
idea in the form of direct address, and
thus paves the way for the appeals,
ver. 15, το.

15. A powerful argument is here
drawn from the tenderness of parental
affection, as formerly displayed in so
signal a manner in behalf of the nation.
Instead of the-plural ὙΠ 533, eighteen
MSS., originally three, two editions,
andallthe ancient versions, read 7n}23 ;
and many more MSS. and editions
exhibit the word in a defective form.

16. The hereditary descent of the
Jews from Abraham, and their de-
pendence upon his merits, and those
of Isaac and Jacob, form the proudest
grounds of boasting among them at
the present day, as they did in the
time of our Lord, Matt. iii. 9; John
viii. 39. See Wetstein on the former
passage. When converted, they shall

be ashamed of all such confidence,
and glory in Jehovah alone. For Ὁ,
in the acceptation, taking care or notice
of, regarding, &e. see Gen. xxxix. 6 ;
Job ix; 21 ;, Ps..cxliv. 3.

17. Though the language of this
verse appears to advance a charge
against Jehovah, it is merely designed
to indicate the deep earnestness of
the suppliants. That they do not in
reality ascribe their moral deviation
and obduracy to the exertion of any
positive, direct, or internal influence
on the part of God, is evident from
the tenor of the petition which is
immediately added. Because of their
wickedness, he had withdrawn from
them his favour, and left them in
circumstances from which they took
occasion to pursue their own ways—
the inevitable results of which were
spiritual blindness and induration.
During a period of nearly eighteen
centuries they have continued in this
awful condition — the subjects of
abandonment, unbelief, and delusion.
Compare the case of Pharaoh, Exod.
vii. 3, 18, viii. 15, 32; Rom. ix. 18 ;
and for a similar use of Hiphil, Ps.

456

ISAIAH.

{CHAP. LXIY.

18 It was a short time thy holy people were in possession ;
Our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary.

19 We have been as those over whom thou never didst rule,
Who were not called by thy name.

exix. 10, cxli. 4; Jer. iv. 10. For an
effectual recovery out of this state,
they now pray that the Divine favour
might be restored.

18, 19. The Jews urge, as a further
reason for their restoration, the com-

paratively short period during which
they had been in possession of Canaan,
the long duration of their’ rejection,
and the desecration of the holy temple
by the enemies of the Most High.
Comp. Luke xxi. 24.

CHAPTER LXIV.

This chapter contains further arguments and confessional pleadings in favour

of a restoration.

The Jews pray for a renewed manifestation of the Divine

power in the destruction of their enemies, who, as such, are represented as
the adversaries of Jehovah, 1, 2; to which they are encouraged by reflecting
on the unparalleled interposition which the nation experienced in Egypt,
3, 4, and on the constancy of the Divine conduct towards all who act
righteously, 5. They confess the deplorable circumstances to which their
sins have reduced them, 6, 7 ; re-assert their original relationship to God,
8, 9 ; and finally appeal to the desolate state of the Holy Land, the sight of
which could not but move him to interfere for their deliverance, 10—12.

1 O THAT thou wouldst rend the heavens, that thou wouldst come

down !

That the mountains might quake at thy presence !

2 As fire kindleth the dry twigs,

And as fire causeth the water to boil ;

1—3. I have followed our Common
Version, the LXX., Vulg., and Syr.,
in departing from the Masoretic di-
vision of the chapters, according to
which the words AT Dw AYN
32 ONT PID are very improperly
made to conclude chapter lxiii—The
heavens are regarded as an outspread
tent, that required to be rent in order

that its occupant might suddenly rush
forth in a case of emergency. 1733, the
Niph. of 5, to tremble, be shaken; Arab.

U; 1)» an earthquake ; LXX. τρόμος

λήψεται; Targ. % This derivation
suits the connexion better than that
from 53, to flow. The scene referred
to is that at Sinai, when the Lord

CHAP. LXIY.]

ISATAH.

457

So make known thy name to thine adversaries,
That the nations may tremble at thy presence.
3 When thou didst terrible things that we expected not,
Thou camest down ; the mountains quaked at thy presence.
4 Never had men heard, nor perceived by the ear,
Neither had eye seen a God besides thee,
That would act for him that waited for him.
5 Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and doeth righteousness ;
Them that remember thee in thy ways:
Though thou art angry, because we have sinned,
Yet because they are everlasting, we shall be saved.
6 Weare, all of us, as an unclean thing,

descended in fire, and the whole
mount quaked greatly, Exod. xix. 18.
By the action of fire on dry twigs or
brushwood, as also on water, noise is
produced, and thereby the effect of
the phenomena heightened. That by
Dan, ¢wigs are meant, has been shewn
by Gesenius ; with whom Hitzig,
Maurer, and Scholz concur. Comp.

the Arab. eed; lenis strepitus, which

Saadias here employs.

4, None of the gods of the nations
had ever appeared to deliver his
votaries, as Jehovah had done for the
salvation of his people. Comp. Deut.
iv. 7. The Apostle cites the passage,
with considerable verbal variety, 1
Cor. ii. 9, in apt illustration of his
position, that while no. real inter-
vention for the impartation of saving
wisdom had been experienced by those
who followed human systems of philo-
sophy, such had been graciously
vouchsafed to the Apostles, for the
benefit of mankind. } Mwy, Zo do or act
for, has here the sense of interposing
for the good of any one.

5. 228, to meet either in a hostile or
in a friendly sense. Here the latter
isthemeaning. The latter hemistich,
Lowth and others think, has been
greatly corrupted ; and several me-
thods have been tried to restore the
text to its pristine state. The whole
difficulty is created by the words
div ἘΠῚ. Some consider the pronoun
Dy to refer to sizs, or punishments,

understood, and explain o3» of the
long period during which they had
continued ; but the most natural re-
ference is to 027), the masculine ante-
cedent in the preceding hemistich ;
and this our translators no doubt had
in view, when they gave the rendering,
“tn those is continuance.” The 3 is
the Beth essentia, which expresses the
reality of any thing, and, in the
present case, gives emphasis to the
personal pronoun, which stands, as
frequently, for the substantive verb.
ory stands elliptically for Di» IW, as
Ps. Ixxxix. 2, 5, 38. The } in Dw)
marks the apodosis, to which there
is an implied protasis in 073. This
I have expressed in the version by
the word “because,” which supersedes
the necessity of rendering, “therefore
we shall be saved.” 7 is not here an
interjection, but an hypothetical par-
ticle, putting the fact, in order to
reason from it. The meaning of the
whole is this: though we are now
punished on account of our trans-
gressions, yet as the ways in which
God manifests his goodness are ever-
lasting, we may confidently hope for
deliverance. That “the ways of God”
signify his gracious dealings with
men, as well as the course of life
which he requires of them, see chap.
lv. 8, 9.

6. ow 123, LXX, ῥάκος ἀποκαθημένης.

Vulg. pannus menstruate. Arab. $c,
the monthly course of females.

458 ISATAH.

And all our righteous deeds as a menstruous cloth ;
We, all of us, fade like a leaf,

And our iniquities, like the wind, have carried us away.

[CHAP. LXV.

7 Moreover, there is none that calleth on thy name,
That stirreth up himself to cleave to thee ;
Therefore thou hast hid thy face from us,
And made us to melt away through our iniquities.
8 Yet now, O Jehovah! Thou art our Father ;
We are the clay, and Thou art our Former ;
We are, all of us, the work of thy hand.
9 Be not angry, O Jehovah! to excess ;
Neither remember iniquity for ever : Ξ
Behold! look, we beseech thee ; we are, all of us, thy people.

10 Thy holy cities are a desert ;
Zion is a desert ;
Jerusalem a desolation.

11 Our holy and our beauteous house,
In which our fathers praised thee,

Has been burned with fire ;

And every one of our objects of desire has been destroyed.
12 Wilt thou refrain at these things, O Jehovah!
Wilt thou keep silence, and afflict us to excess ?

8. THY, zow, is here used aitiologi-
cally, and not as a particle of time.

10. FOR W, thy holy cities, Vitringa
and Rosenmiller interpret of the
upper and lower cities of Jerusalem,
on the ground that the metropolis
alone is honoured with the designation
holy ; but the fact that the same term

is applied to the borders of Canaan, Ps.
Ixxviil. 54, shews that cities may here
mean those of the Holy Land generally.
The picture exhibited of the state of
Palestine, in this and the following
verse, is still faithfully correct, as it
has been for numerous ages past.

CHAPTER LXV.

Jehovah responds in this chapter to the supplicants by whom he had been

addressed in the preceding section.

He first shews them, for their en-

couragement, that he had conferred his favour on the Gentiles who had
made no application to him, and to whom he had stood in no coyvenant-
relation, 1; and then accounts for his having punished the Jews, by

CHAP. LXV.]

ISAIAH.

459

describing both the idolatrous and pharisaical periods of their history, 2—7,
His sparing them as a people, with a view to their ultimate restoration, is
next adverted to; and distinct promises of such restoration are given,
accompanied with fearful denunciations against those who should prefer
a life of worldliness and irreligion to the enjoyment of the privileges and
blessings of the Gospel, 8—15. The rest of the chapter is occupied with
a glowing description of the happy circumstances of the Millennial Church,

1 [ HAVE listened to them that asked not;
I have been found by them that sought me not ;
I have said, Behold me! Behold me!
To a nation not called by my name.
2 I have stretched out my hands continually to a rebellious

people,

That walked in a way that was not good,
According to their own devices ;

3 A people that continually provoked me to my face ;
Sacrificing in the gardens, and burning incense on the tiles ;

1. That these words are spoken of
the Gentiles who were received into
the church, on the introduction of
Christianity, is obvious, both from the
character here given of them as con-
trasted with that of the Jews, and
from the citation of the passage Rom.
x. 20, 21, with direct and express ap-
plication to the rejection of the latter,
and the adoption of the former to be
the people of God. 12 expresses the
result of application to God in prayer:
the granting of the things prayed for.
LXX. ἐμφανὴς ἐγενήθην. In xv, the
accusative of the person is understood.
Two or three codices have >. The
ingemination, ‘27°27, dehold me! be-
hold me! or here I am, here I am, is
peculiarly emphatic, and expresses the
greatest readiness to impart relief to
the needy. 3, zation, is here used as
a collective noun to denote the Gen-
tiles generally. 282 xyp, Lowth, Booth-
royd, Jehour, and Noyes, improperly
interpret of invoking, or calling upon
the name of God. ‘The meaning is,
that the Gentiles had never been
called the people of Jehovah; they had
stood in no such relation to him.

2. God had continually invited the

Jews to return and enjoy his favour,
but they contumaciously rejected his
mercy. WN, xot good, is a λιτότης
for 11, bad, wicked.

3,4. This and the two following
verses contain a specification of the
different ways in which the Jews had,
at different periods of their history,
evinced their opposition to the Divine
will, and rendered themselves liable to
the punishments that had been in-
flicted upon them. Their idolatries
had been of the most open and bare-
faced description—7 35 9». Nothing
could have been more daring. By
“gardens” are meant groves, such as
those in which the heathen were ac-
customed to worship their idols. See
chap. 1. 29, Ixvi. 17. By 0222, some
suppose altars built with drichs are
intended ; but it is more probable we
are to understand by the term, the
tiles of the roofs, on which the Jews
poured out libations to the host of
heaven. See Jer. xix. 13; Zeph. i. 5.
Gesenius, however, is rather inclined
to adopt the opinion of Rosenmiiller,
that the Prophet refers to a custom of
the Babylonians, of offering incense
to certain of their deities on baked

400 ISAIAH. [CHAP. LXV.

4 That sat in the graves,

And spent the nights in the sepulchres ;

That ate the flesh of swine,

And in whose vessels was the broth of unclean meats :
5 That said, Keep by thyself; come not near me ;

For I am holier than thou.

These were a smoke in my nose ;

A fire that burned continually.
6 Behold! it is recorded before me:

I will not keep silence, but will requite ;

bricks, such as those on which are in-
sculped magical figures, and arrow-
headed characters.—Allusion is next
made to the means to which they re-
sorted in order to procure a know-
ledge of secret and future events,—
the practice of necromancy and divi-
nation. This they expected to obtain
from the spirits of the dead, which
they imagined still to hover about
their tombs; and for this purpose
they frequented, during the dark
hours of night, the graves and se-
pulchral excavations in which their
bodies were deposited. The latter
are called Os), reserved, hidden, con-
cealed places, from their darkness and
obscurity. ΠΤΧΧ, σπήλαια. From the
addition made by the translators
of this version, κοιμῶνται διὰ ἐνύπνια,
it would appear, that they supposed
there was a reference in the passage
to the superstitious belief of the
Egyptians, that Isis appeared in
dreams to those who slept in her
temples, and revealed to them the
knowledge of medicine and future
events. Diod. Sic. i. 25, 55 ; Strabo,
xvii. and other literary references in
Gesenius.—As swine were offered in
sacrifice to Ceres and other heathen
deities, and their flesh was eaten at
the sacrificial feasts,.the Jews, imita-
ting the idolatrous rite, violated the
express prohibition, Levit. xi. 7.—?},
broth, is derived from ΡΒ, ¢o ¢ear, or
pluck in pieces, a8 flesh, in order to its
being boiled into broth. ?y9, the read-
ing of the Keri, and of a few MSS.
and editions, has the same significa-
tion. Whether this broth was used
by the Jews as food, for lustration, or

for presentation to idols, cannot be
determined.

5. Having, in the preceding verse,
specified the sins for which the Jews
were notorious, during what may be
called the idolatrous period of their
history, Jehovah now portrays their
character during the self-righteous |
period, or that which succeeded the Ὁ
return from the captivity,—including
Pharisaism, Talmudism, and modern
Judaism. Comp. chap. lvii. 1—3 ;
Luke xviii. 11; Rom. x.3. The hy-
pothesis of Gesenius, that the refer-
ence here is to purifications in use
among the ancient Parsees, or those
who professed the Medo-Persian reli-
gion, seems altogether destitute of
probability. For the phrase 728 2,
lit. approach to thyself, comp. the Arabic
ENS] EW, to thee, to thee ; signify-
ing, “Keep away from me.”—7 DOT),
I am holy in respect to thee, 1. 6. taking
thy character into the account. It is
equivalent to 722 Mw, am more holy
than thou. Thus the Targ. 30 8721.
The conceit of imaginary holiness, ac-
cruing from certain external relations,
and the performance of certain ritual
or bodily exercises, such as the Jews
have long entertained, and which is
also awfully prevalent among nominal
Christians, Jehovah here declares to
be peculiarly offensive to him.

6, 7. For 287 72:3, ἐξ is written before
me, corap. Jude, ver.4 ; of πάλαι mpoye-
γραμμένοι εἰς τοῦτο τὸ κρίμα. The
phrase is forensic, denoting the sen-
tence which has been pronounced
upon a criminal, and which is written
in a book or posted up in some public

CHAP. LXV.]

ISAIAH.

461.

Yea, I will requite into their bosom,
7 Your iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers together,

saith Jehovah ;

That burned incense upon the mountains,
And dishonoured me upon the high places ;
I will even measure their former demerit into their bosom.

8 Thus saith Jehovah:

As when new wine is found in the cluster,
And men say, Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it:
So will I act in behalf of my servants ;

Not to destroy the whole.

9 For I will cause a seed to go forth from Jacob,
And from Judah, inheritors of my mountains ;
Yea, my chosen shall inherit it,

And there shall my servants dwell.

10

Sharon also shall become a fold for flocks,

And the valley of Achor a resting-place for herds ;
For the benefit of my people that have sought me.

11 But as for you, that forsake Jehovah,

place ; and the certainty of its execu-
tion.—The Jews, by their obstinate
rejection of the Messiah, anf the
iniquities which have sprung out of
that rejection, have no less than their
progenitors exposed themselves to the
Divine indignation ; and upon them
hath been visited the full amount of
national guilt, which they had for
ages been contracting. Comp. Matt.
XXill. 31—39. nina is the term usually
employed in application to the elevated
places on which the idolatrous Israel-
ites offered sacrifices and incense, in
imitation of the heathen, who were
accustomed to select nivaa, high hills, as
localities peculiarly favourable to the
worship of the host of heaven. ‘ya
signifies both work, and the wages or
reward of labour. It is here used to
denote the punishment which the
Jews have merited by their national
transgressions, which, as a long series,
stretched back into former times. The
phrase, “measuring intothe bosom,” is
takenfrom the Oriental custom of carry-
ing articles in the ample bosom of the
hyke or cloak, and means to furnish

abundantly ; or, as in the present
case, to administer full punishment.
Comp. Ps. Ixxix. 12; Jer, xxx. 18.
8—10. The Jewish people are here
compared toa cluster of grapes, which,
from their being so bad as to be unfit
for use, are upon the point of being
thrown away. Subsequent to the de-
struction of Jerusalem by the Romans,
they seem as if they had been devoted
to utter destruction. The “blessing”
denotes the Divine favour which is
still in store for them as the descend-
ants of the patriarchs. See Rom. xi.
28, and the note on chap. vi. 13. The
future happy occupation of Palestine
by a regenerated race of Jews is here
clearly predicted. δ and WW are
collectives. It is to the celebrated
fertility of Sharon and Achor that
special reference is had. The former
was situated in the west, and the other
in the east, of cis-Jordanic Canaan.
They are adduced as samples of the
whole. ὍΣ is the Dat. commodi; for
the advantage of my chosen people.
11. As the persons addressed in
this and the four following verses are

3M

402

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. LXV.

And forget my holy mountain ;
That prepare a table for Fortune,

: And fill a libation to Fate:
12

I will even appoint you to the sword ;

And ye shall all of you bow down to the slaughter ;
Because I called, but ye answered not ;

I spake, but ye hearkened not:

But would do that which is evil in my sight,

contrasted with those who are to
return and enjoy the Divine favour in
Palestine, it seems more natural to
regard them as the impenitent and
worldly portion of the Jews who shall
live at the time of the restoration,
rather than the idolatrous part of the
nation that lived before the Babylonish
captivity. Such construction alone
fully suits the close and immediate
coherence of the argument. In such
case, as there is no reason to imagine
that any of the Jews will again become
actual idolaters, all attempts to ex-
plain 3, Gad, and °%, Meni, of idols
literally taken, are aside from the
point. On few words in the He-
brew Bible, perhaps, has more been
written, and certainly on none have
the opinions advanced afforded less
satisfaction. I refer those who may
be desirous of reviewing them to Vi-
tringa, Rosenmiiller, and Gesenius ;
and the works quoted by these authors.
That the terms may have been bor-
rowed from the nomenclature of idol-
aters may be admitted. 3, which
signifies, Fortune, good luck, prosperity,
is cognate with the Arab. d>, of the
same signification; which Rabbi Moses
Haccohen asserts was a name given
by the Arabs to the planet Jupiter.
They also gave to this planet the

name ys Y) dawl, dona fortuna major.

Comp. 722=72 83, “ prosperity cometh,”
Gen. xxx. 11; and Ἢ 993, the place
where the god Fortune was worshipped
at the foot of Mount Hermon, Josh.
xi. 17. In the common text of the
LXX. this word is rendered δαιμόνιον,
and the following by τύχη ; but, accord-
ing to the version of Jerome, and the
MSS. Pachom, and I. D. 11, the order
of the words must originally have

been the reverse. 29 has been re-
ferred by some to Μήνη, the moon, by
others to Venus; but the word is
more probably related to the Arab.

$lio, the name of an idol worshipped

“by the ancient Arabs. Comp. ἄκλο,

Jutum, chance, destiny ; from the verb
m2, to number, appoint, allot, being em-
ployed, ver. 12, with obvious reference
to the signification of °29, with which
it forms an elegant paronomasia ; and
from the close relation in which the
terms Gad and Meni stand to each
other, the idea of Fute or Destiny is
most likely that which the latter is
designed to convey. The description
admirably suits worldly and infidel
charaeters, who not only have no re-
gard for, but laugh at, religion ; have
no god but riches, and regard human
affairs as governed by chance. <Ac-
cording to Jerome, the custom to
which allusion is made, -obtained
among the Egyptians, who placed in
all their cities, on the last day of the
year, a table full of various kinds of
provision, and a cup of sweet wine
mixed with water, either in acknow-
ledgment of the fertility of the past,
or to implore the fruitfulness of the
approaching year.

12. The Jews who shall prefer the
pleasures of sin to those of true reli-
gion embraced by the great body of
the nation, shall meet with inevitable
and condign punishment. This pun-
ishment will, in all probability, be
inflicted upon them in common with
the members of the anti-Christian
confederacy, after their believing
brethren shall have been securely
settled in Palestine. “In which I
had no delight,” z.e, by meiosis, which
7 utterly abhorred.

CHAP. LXV.] ISAIAH. 463

And choose that in which I delighted not.

Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah :

Behold! my servants shall eat, but ye shall famish ;
Behold! my servants shall drink, but ye shall have thirst ;
Behold! my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed ;
‘Behold! my servants shall shuot for gladness of heart,
But ye shall cry out for sorrow of heart ;

And shall howl for anguish of spirit.

And ye shall leave your name for a curse¢o my chosen ;
For the Lord Jehovah shall kill thee,

And call his servants by another name.

So that he that blesseth in the land,

Shall bless by the faithful God ;

And he that sweareth in the land,

Shall swear by the faithful God ;

13

14

15

16

Because the former troubles are forgotten,

13, 14. The contrast in these verses
is admirably sustained, and possesses
great energy. 2) 399, lit. goodness of
heart, but used to express internal
happiness or delight. Comp. Deut.
xxviii. 47; Ps. iv. 7. For ὙΠ, see on
chap. xv. 2.

15. So signal shall be the punish-
ment of the infidel Jews, that, in
future time, should any curse or im-
precation be pronounced against a
sinner, none would be more awful in
its character than that which should
involve their fate. Comp. Jer. xxix.
22; Numb. v. 21. Henceforth a Jew
should only be spoken of as the sub-
ject of Divine indignation.—Many
interpreters suppose the name Chris-
tian to be here intended; and the
passage has been adduced in support
of the opinion, that this name was
given to the disciples at Antioch by
immediate revelation ; but as no ap-
pellation is added, it is more correct
to explain the phrase of the new
state and character of the converted
Israelites. See on chap. lxii. 2. The
Ἢ in 727 is a collective suffix, and, as
such, is rendered by the LXX, and
the Targ. in the plural.

16. By lan. is meant imploring
blessings for one’s self, and, in this
case, with the 3 of object, direct

application to God in acts of religious
worship. This, »202 following clearly
shews. Comp. chap. xix. 18, and Jer.

ee DD

interpreters, the true God ; Gesenius,
“ Deus veri, for Deus verus.? To ex-
press this, however, the phrase should
have been ΤῸΝ x, ὁ. 6. the God who
is really such, in opposition to all
false or fictitious deities. ἸῸΝ has
reference, not to existence, but to
promises, engagements, or declara-
tions; and expresses the veracious-
ness or fidelity of him of whom it is
predicated, or the certainty of these
taking effect. The immediate con-
nexion shews that this must be the
meaning of the attribute as here
ascribed to Jehovah. The final resto-
ration of the Jews will furnish one of
the most illustrious instances of the
accomplishment of the promises and
predictions of Scripture, and, conse-
quently, the most abundant proof of
the faithfulness of Him by whom
they were delivered. It is thus the
words of Christ are to be understood,
Rev. iii. 14, τάδε λέγει ὁ ᾿Αμὴν, ὁ μάρτυς
ὁ πιστὸς καὶ ἀληθινὸς. The rendering
of some, however, “the God AMEN,”
which they apply to our Saviour, is
unwarranted by the Hebrew text.

464

ISATAH.

[CHAP. LXV.

And because they are hid from mine eyes.

17

For, behold! I create new heavens, and a new earth;

And the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

18

But rejoice, and exult for ever in regard to that which I create ;

For, behold! I create Jerusalem an exultation,

And her people a joy.
19
And rejoice in my people ;

For I will exult in Jerusalem,

And there shall no more be heard in her
The sound of weeping, or the sound of outcry.

20

There shall no more be there a child of a few days,

Nor an aged man, that hath not filled up his days ;
For the youth shall die a hundred years old,
And the sinner of a hundred years shall be accursed.

21

They shall even build houses, and inhabit them ;

And plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.

22

They shall not build, and another inhabit ;

They shall not plant, and another eat ;
For as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people;
And my chosen shall enjoy the work of their hands.

17,18. Creation is here to be un-
derstood not physically, but in a
civil and religious sense. The subject
is Jerusalem and the Jews. Their
restoration will be like a fresh spring-
ing into existence ; and the constitu-
tion to be established among them
will be entirely different from their
ancient economy. Comp. Rev. xxi. 1.
Vx is here to be taken as the accusa-
tive, ix regard to, as it respects that,
&c. Comp. Judg. viii. 15.

19. Now follows, to the end of the
chapter, an exquisitely beautiful and
truly graphic description of the Mil-
lennial happiness of the Jewish
people. Longevity, the undisturbed
possession and enjoyment of the
blessings of Providence, the speediest
answer to prayer, and the most com-
plete harmony and peace, shall dis-
tinguish that blissful period.

20, nvin; LXX. ἐκεῖ; Syr. wl;
Saad. lin, there. In this case the
preposition has no more force than in

pom, map, Opp, &e. By om nv, an
infant of days, is meant one that is
only a few days old, or who has, at
least, not reached the age of a year.
jen Oe Ὃν are connected, so that the
pronoun Vx, and the pronom. affix in
va, refer to both. The child shall
live to see a good old age, and the
aged themselves shall reach the goal
of antediluvian longevity. So general
shall be this extraordinary length of
human life, that not only shall he be
accounted a youth who dies at the age
of a hundred years, but his being cut
off at that early period shall be
regarded as a special judgment on
account of his sins.

22. Some trees, such as the oak,
the terebinth, and the banian, reach
the age of a thousand years. The
oak, for instance, grows for three
hundred years, retains its full vigour
for two hundred more, and then takes
five hundred to decay, the process of
which is during most of that period
imperceptible.

CHAP. LXVI.]

23 They shall not toil in vain, —

ISAIAH.

465

Nor bring forth children for sudden destruction ;
For they are the seed of the blessed of Jehovah,

And their offspring with them.
24

And it shall be, that before they call, I will answer ;

While they are yet speaking, 1 will hear.

25

The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,

And the lion shall eat straw like the ox;
But as for the serpent, dust shall be his food ;
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain,

Saith Jehovah.

23. For 773

Trt)

comp. the Arab. Je,
execratus fuit ; ἅλῳ, maledictio, dire.

But as the person who incurred a
curse was regarded as doomed to
destruction, the ideas of ruin, destruc-
tion, death, naturally came to be
attached to it. Chald. xpi), 18
signifies to tremble, to flee for fear, to
perish suddenly; hence 7773, speedy,
sudden destruction. From such pun-
ishment the children shall be exempt,
being beloved for the sake of their
ancestors, to whom Jehovah attached
a peculiar blessing. Comp. chap.
lix. 21.

24. This language is strongly ex-
pressive of the utmost readiness of
Jehovah to confer blessings upon his
people.

representation of the blessed harmony
to be realized under the reign of the
Messiah, which is furnished chap. xi.
6—9. What was to be more or less
extensively the effect of the change
produced on the character of man-
kind, in proportion to the spread of
true religion among them, shall be
fully exhibited during the period of
the latter-day glory. By πὲ, the
serpent, in this place, there seems
every reason to believe that Satan,
the old seducer and author of discord
and misery, is meant. During the
Millennium he is to be subject to the
lowest degradation. Compare, for the
force of the phrase fo lick the dust,
Ps. Ixxii. 9; Mic. vii. 17. This was
the original doom of the tempter,
Gen. 111. 14, and shall be fully carried
into execution, Comp. Rev. xx.

25. We have here an almost verbal 1—3.
repetition of the sublime figurative
--- Ὁ--- -

CHAPTER LXVI.

Having in the latter part of the preceding chapter carried forward the atten-
tion of the Jews to the happiness to be enjoyed by their nation in the
distant Millennial age, the prophet, before closing his sublime predictions,

᾿ adverts to certain circumstances which should be connected with the intro-

duction of that new state of things.

He anticipates and reprobates the attempt that will be made by the unbeliev-

466 ISAIAH. [CHAP. LXVI.

ing portion of the Jews to rebuild their temple, and re-establish their
ancient ceremonies, 1—3 ; denounces Divine judgments upon them, 4—6 ;
foretells the sudden and unexpected conversion of the nation, 7—9 ; calls
upon their Gentile brethren to rejoice with them, 10, 11; promises great
prosperity and happiness to the converted Israelites, 12—14; shews that
awful destruction shall overtake those nations that shall oppose themselves
to the purposes and claims of Jehovah, 15—18 ; predicts a special mission
of converted Gentiles into different and distant countries, and the recovery
of all such Jews as remained in them, to the service of God in the land of
their fathers, 19—21; gives an assurance of the permanence of the new
Jewish Church, in conjunction and union with that of the Gentiles, 22, 23 ;
and concludes with an awful representation of the misery of the finally

impenitent, 24,

1 Tuus saith Jehovah:

Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool ;
Where is the house that ye would build for me ?
And where is the place of my rest?

2 All these things hath my hand made ;
And all these things have been, saith Jehovah :

But to this man will I look,

To him that is humble and contrite in spirit,

And trembleth at my word.

3 He that slayeth an ox, killeth a man ;

1, 2. It appears from these verses,
and that which follows, that, on being
restored to their own land, and occu-
pied with the building of Jerusalem,
some of the Jews will attempt to
reconstruct their temple, in’ order
that they may worship in it according
to the Mosaic ritual. Such an at-
tempt is here met by the declaration
that no earthly structure is worthy
of the transcendent excellence of the
spiritual and blessed nature of Jeho-
vah. The Jews have ever been prone
to glory in, and rest satisfied with,
external and splendid services; and
the same disposition will actuate the
unbelieving portion of them on their
restoration. To check this disposi-
tion, the Most High asserts his infi-
nite superiority, as Creator and Lord
of the Universe, to everything mate-
rial, and describes the only temple in
which he condescends to dwell—the

heart of the contrite and spiritual
worshipper. Comp. chap. lvii. 15; 1
Kings viii. 27—30. Comp. also Rev.
xxi. 22, where it is expressly declared
that no temple was visible in the new
Jerusalem. According to the points,
DiP2 is in apposition with ΠΤ), but
all the ancient versions place the
words in construction. In ver. 2, 9
is improperly supplied by the LXX.,
Syr., and Lowth. The substantive
verb ™7 is used absolutely, as in Ps.
XXxiii. 9; and as ἦσαν in Rev. iv. 11.
3. Lowth supposes instances of
extreme wickedness combined with
hypocrisy to be here intended ; but
it seems far more in accordance with |
the spirit of the passage to view it as
teaching the absolute unlawfulness of
sacrifices under the Christian dispen-
sation. When the Jews are converted
to the faith of Jesus the Son of God,
they must acquiesce in the doctrine

CHAP. LXVI.]

ISATAH.

467

He that sacrificeth a lamb, cutteth off the neck of a dog ;
He that offereth an oblation, offereth swine’s blood ;
He that maketh a remembrance-offering of incense, blesseth an

idol.

As for them, they have chosen their own ways,

And their soul hath delighted in their abominations.
4 J also will choose their calamities,

And bring upon them the things which they dread ;

Because 1 called, but none answered ;

I spake, but they did not hearken ;

But did that which was evil in my sight,

And chose that in which 1 delighted not.

5 Hear the word of Jehovah,
Ye that tremble at his word !
Your brethren that hate you,

And thrust you out for my name’s sake, have said,

Let Jehovah be glorified ;

But he shall appear to your joy,

And they shall be ashamed.

6 <A voice of tumult from the city!

A voice from the temple !

taught in the ixth and xth chapters
of the Epistle to the Hebrews, that
the one offering which he presented
upon the cross, for ever set aside all
the animal sacrifices and oblations
which had been appointed by the law
of Moses. *Any attempt to revive the
practice is here declared to be upon a
par with the cruel and abominable
customs of the heathen, who offered
human sacrifices, and such animals
as the ancient people of God were
taught to hold in abomination. The
> of comparison is omitted, as fre-
quently in poetry ; but is supplied in
the LXX., Vulg., Targ., Theod., Symm.,
and most modern versions. Its in-
sertion in the present case would
weaken the force and vehemence of
the language.

4, 5. In retribution of the unbeliev-
ing and rebellious persistence of the
Jews in endeavouring to establish the
old ritual, Jehovah threatens them
with condign punishment; while

such of them as may render them-
selves obnoxious to their brethren by
receiving the doctrine of the Gospel
on the subject, have a gracious promise
of Divine approbation and protection
given to them. o> oy signify cala-
mities, vexations, a8 the parallelism
shews, and as the root ἣν, ¢o act
repeatedly, vex by improper conduct, evil-
entreat, &c. naturally suggests. See
on chap. 111. 4, 12; Targ. ji7724, interi-
tus eorum. ‘This interpretation is to
be preferred to ἐμπαίγματα of the
LXX., and illusiones of the Vulg.

6. By a remarkable and astounding
interposition of Jehovah, the scheme
of the Jews shall be defeated. The
very temple which they shall be in
the act of erecting shall be the scene
of judgment. By 77m 4p, the voice of
Jehovah, is meant thunder, as in Ps.
xxix. ; so that, in all probability, the
projected temple will be destroyed by
lightning.

468
The voice of Jehovah!

ISATAH.

[CHAP, LXVI.

Rendering retribution to his enemies.
7 Before she was in pain, she brought forth ;
Before her pangs came upon her, she was delivered of a male.

8 Who hath heard of such a thing Ὁ

Who hath seen such things ?

Is a country in pain in a day?
Is a nation brought forth at once ?
Yet Zion hath both been in pain, and hath brought forth her

sons.

9 Should I bring to the birth, and not cause to bear? saith

Jehovah ;

Should I cause to bear, and yet restrain? saith your God.

10 Rejoice ye with Jerusalem,

And exult on her account, all ye that love her ;
Be exceedingly joyful with her, all ye that mourned for her ;

11

That ye may suck, and be satisfied,

At the breast of her consolations ;
That ye may press out, and be delighted
With the abundance of her glory.

12 For thus saith Jehovah :

Behold! I will extend to her prosperity like a river,

And the wealth of the nations like a flooding stream ;
And ye shall suck them, and shall be carried on the side,

7—9. The metaphors here taken
from a woman in travail are fre-
quently employed by our prophet.
See chap. xii. 8, xxi. ὃ, xxvi. 18. The
language forcibly expresses the sudden
and unexpected reproduction of the
Jewish nation in their own land in
the latter day. Compare that of the
last cited passage in reference to the
restoration from the captivity in Baby-
lon. Their future recovery is the
object of Divine purpose, and every
providential arrangement shall be
made for effecting it ; yet the event
shall be unexpectedly sudden.

10. m8 expresses the object of joy,
ἢ. 6. Jerusalem.

11. ΤΡΌΠΟΣ Ww does not mean the
breast of Jerusalem, but the Source
from which her consolations are sup-
plied. While men shall witness the

rich enjoyment of the Divine favour
conferred upon her, they shall be ex-
cited more earnestly to apply for the
same blessings. ῬῈ occurs only thrice:
here, and Ps. 1. 11, lxxx. 14; but ob-
viously means a copious supply ; or,
as corresponding to WW, breast, that
from which such supply is obtained.
Gesenius derives it from 1%, fo move,
radiate, flow out like rays, and renders
full breast. The Soncin. Edit., four
MSS., and originally nine, read ™,
brightness ; while the probable reading
of De Rossi’s MSS. 545, is 7}, the
word proposed by Lowth. The Targ.
reads }”, wine, which makes no sense.
The wild beasts, being full of activity,
are designated by this term in the
passages just quoted from the Psalms.
Symm. and Theod. ἀπὸ πλήθους.
12. Comp. chap. lx. 4—6.

CHAP. LXVI.]

And dandled upon the knees.
13
So will I comfort you ;

ISATAH.

469

As one whom his mother comforteth,

Even in Jerusalem shall ye be comforted.

14

And ye shall see, and your heart shall rejoice,

And your bones shall flourish, like the green herb:
For the hand of Jehovah shall be known to his servants ;
But he shall be indignant against his enemies.

15

For behold! Jehovah shall come with fire,

And his chariots shall be as the whirlwind ;
Causing his anger to return with fury,

And his rebuke with flames of fire. -

16

For with fire shall Jehovah contend,

And with his sword, with all flesh ;
And many shall be the slain of Jehovah.

17

Those that sanctify themselves,

And that purify themselves in the gardens after one,

14. m8 in Yay marks the object
on which ΠΡ 12 terminates. The anti-
thesis in this verse is very striking,
and occasions the following awful
denunciations of Divine wrath.

15, 16. These verses describe the
tremendous judgment to be inflicted
on the anti-Christian confederacy, to
which distinct, pointed, and repeated
reference is made in the prophetic
Scriptures :—the great battle of Ar-
mageddon, so graphically set forth,
Rev. xvi. 14—21, xix. 11—21. The
figurative language of fire and sword
is common to all the prophets. 27
‘ok means to visit with renewed in-:
flictions of wrath, and points out the
awfully severe character of the judg-
ment to be poured out upon the ene-
mies of the Church of God.

17. To what species of superstition
the prophet here refers, it is hard to
determine. As the verse is likewise
comminatory, and closely coheres with
the two preceding, it is obvious that
the persons intended must belong to
the same general confederacy against
the Messiah ; yet, since they are dis-
tinguished in so very marked a manner
from the rest, we cannot but conclude,
that the prophecy points to some
class of enemies in particular on which

signal punishment is to be inflicted.
With respect to language, the only
words which create any serious diffi-
culty are FRI Ws.wy, lit. after or Le-
hind one in the midst. The various
readings are of little weight, being
chiefly conjectural, or emendatorial.
Two MSS., and as it would seem
another, and apparently two originally,
read M8 IMR, ove, one, 1. Θ. one by one.
Instead of 17s the Keri has nms in the
feminine, which one of De Rossi’s
MSS. and the Soncin. Edit. exhibit in
the text; and another MS. of De
Rossi’s has ΓΝ 3s ΠΝ, which corre-
sponds, except in gender, with the Syr.
v yo ¥.

pao SDD ganar 016 after one, and in
Sense with ὀπίσω ἀλλήλων, of Symm.
and Theod. Most of those commen-
tators who suppose a reference to be
made to some ancient idolatrous rites,
are of opinion that by Achad a Syro-
Phenician idol is meant. This
opinion is founded on the statement
of Macrobius, that the Syrians give to
the sun, as the Supreme Power, the
name of Adad, the signification of
which is Ove. Saturnal. i. 23. The
same name is found in Sanchoniathon,
(Euseb. Preepar. Evang. lib. x. cap.
38,) and in Pliny, Nat. Hist, xxxvii. 11,

3.N

ATO

ISATAH.

[CHAP. LXVI.

Amidst them that eat swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and

the mouse ;

They shall perish together, saith Jehovah.

The occurrence of nearly the same
form in the royal names 117, Hadad,
wi, Hadadezer, 1773, Benhadad, is
thought to be traceable to the same
source, and to be little else than the
Hebrew x, only the aspirate is sup-
pressed, and the last letter doubled
for the sake of intensity. Pfeiffer,
however, in his Dubia vexata, Gesenius,
Hitzig, and Scholz, consider x, Oxe,
to be the leader or chief priest in
an idolatrous procession, whom the
company of worshippers follow into
the midst of the temple or grove
where the rites were celebrated.
Such a single leader is prominently
exhibited on the ancient Persian
monuments. It is not a little re-
markable, that the term which has
occasioned so much difficulty in the
interpretation of the passage is pre-

cisely that (d=], AcHap, “One,”)

which the Mohammedans have con-
tinually on their lips, as distinguishing
the object of their worship. In mani-
fest contradiction of the Scripture
doctrine of the Trinity, the cxiith Surah

of the Koran teaches, d=} a} "Ὁ ως

bk οὖν οἱ, ply οἷν, οἱ deal all
d>| 1,38 , Say, God is (ACHAD) one ;

the Eternal God ; he begetteth not, nei-
ther is he begotten ; and he is without an

equal. This Surah is entitled δ yy
olay , the Chapter of Salvation, and

is held in such veneration, that the
repeating of it is reckoned equal in
value to that of a third part of the
whole Koran. It is also a notorious
fact, that purification forms one of
the most essential ceremonies of the
Mohammedan religion. Numerous
minute rules prescribe the different
modes in which it is to be performed,
and especially those ablutions which
take place at the five periods of daily

prayer. No act of worship can be
celebrated if the individual has not
previously purified himself. The
obstinate unbelief of the Moham-
medans, as it respects the Gospel, and
the extravagant ideas which they en-
tertain of their own dignity, especially
as contrasted with Jews, Christians,
and idolaters, are leading features in
their character. That they are speci-
fically intended in this prophecy it
would be presumptuous absolutely to
assert ; but I frankly own that I am
strongly inclined to believe this to be
the case.— x, after, is here used in
the religious sense of following, being
addicted to the worship or service of any
deity, Comp. 1 Sam. xii. 14, 70x
DRX WM, and chap. lix. 13, Ws 307
asx. As no proper sense can be
brought out of ni, as divided and
pointed by the Masoretes, I have con-
strued it with the following 12 ‘Dk,
&e. This mode of construction is
further recommended by the following
considerations : First, neither the
LXX. ἐν τοῖς προθύροις, nor the Targ.
ἈΦ IN] ND, has read 712 in the ab-
solute. Secondly, Symm. and Theod.
similarly construe, ὀπίσω ἀλλήλων ἐν
μέσῳ ἐσθίοντων τὸ κρέας χοιρεῖον.
Thirdly, D928, being without the
article, shews that it is not in ap-
position with OTA oOwPNDD, but
designates a totally different class of
persons. The meaning is, that those
who prided themselves on their sepa-
ration from every thing impure,
should, in the infliction of Divine
judgment, be commingled with such
as they considered to be legally pol-
luted ; they should, as it is imme-
diately added, perish together. What
is meant by 7220, the abomination, does
not appear. The 722Y is doubtless the

Arab. pe yor Exp , Jerboa, as it 15

rendered in the Arabic version, the
mus jaculus of Linneeus, which 15 much
larger than the common mouse. It
abounds, in the fields, and is very
destructive to them.

CHAP. LXVI.]

ISAIAH.

471

18 As for me, their works and their thoughts are come [before me] ;
I will assemble all the nations and the languages ;
And they shall come and shall see my glory.

19

For I will place a sign among them ;

And those of them that escape I will send to the nations ;
To Tarshish, Pul and Lud, that draw the bow;

To Tubal and Javan, to the distant maritime lands,

That have not heard of my fame,

Nor seen my glory ;

18. The first clause of this verse is
elliptical. The best mode of con-
struction is to take *238) as the nomin.
absol.; and, referring 7x32 distribu-
tively to OMY and nize, to supply
25), beforé me: the meaning being, that
the wicked deeds and purposes of the
nations had now come up for judgment.
Some supply the verb Ὁ after °25x),
but this seems less natural. The
Infin. 37? has here the force of the
future, and is, with such signification,
to be connected with the pronoun at
the beginning of the verse. The glory
of Jehovah, which the assembled
nations are to see, is that accruing to
him from the signal defeat and pun-
ishment of the enemies of his Church.
Comp. Ezek. xxxix. 21.

19. 1is here causal in signification.
The mx, or sigz, betokens the mira-
culous overthrow of the hostile army.
Comp. Exod. x. 2, where 2718 0 is
used to express the supernatural
judgments inflicted on the Egyptians.
ἘΠῚ and O79 refer to D130, the nations,
ver. 18, and not to the Jews, as many
have violently supposed. The mis-
sionaries to be sent to the different
parts of the world are Gentiles, who
shall have been present at, but have
not perished in, the great overthrow in
Palestine ; and who, brought by what
they shall have witnessed to acknow-
ledge the Divine claims, and become
reconciled to God, shall cheerfully
obey his mandate, to publish his fame
among the various nations of the
earth. The nations specified are ob-
viously given as a sample. For
Tarshish, see on chap. xxiii. 10, By
mB, Pul, it is generally agreed we are
to understand the island of Phile, and
the surrounding region on the Nile,

to the south of Elephantine, and
about a hundred stadii beyond Syene.
It was inhabited by the Egyptians
and Ethiopians in common, lying be-
tween their two countries. Its name

in Coptic is TWIAAK or WEAAK,

and signifies the boundary. Wilkin-
son describes the extensive ruins with
which it abounds, which prove its
importance in ancient times. ὍΣ, Lad,
occurs as the name of a people de-
scended from the Egyptians, Gen. x,
13. They are described as handling
the bow and the shield, Jer. xlvi. 9,
and as being mercenaries of the Phe-
nicians, Ezek. xxvii. 10. From the
last mentioned circumstance, it is
probable that they inhabited a region
stretching from the southern shore of
the Mediterranean towards Ethiopia.
Like the Ethiopians, they were cele-
brated for their expert use of the
bow, so that πῶ °2v9 is quite in its
place, and is not open to the suspicion
raised against it by Lowth. 2»,
Tubal, occurs, as here, in connexion
with jy, Javan, Gen. x. 2; Ezek. xxvii.
13; and usually with 7», Meshech,
a people inhabiting the Moschian
mountains between Iberia, Armenia,
and Colchis. The term, doubtless,
denotes the Zibarenes, oi Τιβαρηνοὶ,
whom Strabo describes as occupying
the eastern and south-eastern coasts
of the Black Sea, xi. 527. The Cir-
cassians and Mingrelians are, in all
probability, descended from them.
2, Lavan, Fonia, originally the name of
the province so called in Asia Minor,
but afterwards extended so as to in-
cludeall Greece. Πάντας τοὺς Ἕλληνας
Ἰώάονας οἱ βάρβαροι ἐκάλουν. Schol. ad
Aristoph. Acharn. 106, In the San-

472

ISAIAH.

[CHAP. LXVI.

And they shall declare my glory among the nations.

20

And they shall bring all your brethren,

From all the nations, an oblation to Jehovah,
On horses, and in chariots and litters,

On mules also, and on dromedaries,

To my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith Jehovah,
As the children of Israel bring the oblation

Tn a clean vessel to the house of Jehovah.

21 And of them also will I take

For priests and for Levites, saith Jehovah.

For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make,

Shall remain before me, saith Jehovah ;
So shall your seed, and your name remain.
23 And it shall be, that from month to month,

And from sabbath to sabbath,

scrit, the Greeks are called Yavanas.
The design of the mission here spe-
cified is to announce to the different
nations the glorious interposition of
Jehovah, of which the persons deputed
shall have been witnesses, that all
may be induced to fear him, and de-
vote themselves to his service. For
‘wow, my fame, the LXX. and Syr. read
nd, my name, Which, on this authority
alone, Lowth adopts.

20. This verse describes the happy
result of the announcement as it re-
gards such Jews as might not yet
have reached the land of their fathers.
Looking upon them as belonging to a
people in whose behalf the Most High
had signally interposed, the converted
Gentiles will render them every assist-
ance requisite for their return. That
DIT, your brethren, mean the Jews,
there can be no doubt. By m2 are
meant /itters or counes, which resemble
cradles, covered handsomely with
cloth, so as to protect the persons
who are carried in them from sun
and rain. They are borne on camels,
one on each side, and have openings
or windows for the admission of light.
Comp. Numb. vii.3. Sometimes they
are carried by two camels, one before
and the other behind. ΠῚ 93 occurs
only this once, but according to the
Rabbins, with whom Gesenius and
other moderns agree, it signifies

dromedaries, which are so called from
the dancing or bounding motion which
they make in walking. Root 13, 173,
to dance.

21. From the close of the following
verse, it appears that the persons here
spoken of are the recovered Jews
mentioned in ver. 20, and not the
Gentiles likewise there specified. The
language implies that the performance
of Divine service shall not be re-
stricted to the tribe of Levi, but shall
be the common privilege of the whole
people. Sixty-three MSS., originally
thirteen more, and perhaps three,
with all the versions, prefix } to 02).

22. See chap. lxv. 17, 18, and comp.
Heb. xii. 26—28. As the Christian
dispensation is to be permanent, and
shall not give way to any other, so
permanent shall be the happy state of
the restored Israelites. They shall
never be any more rejected, but shall
form one fold with the Gentiles, under
the One Shepherd and Bishop of
souls, the Great Messiah. Comp.
chap. lix. 21.

23. This verse points out the con-
stancy and regularity with which the
whole human family shall celebrate
Divine worship. Comp. Zech. xiv.
16—19. Not only on the sacred day
of rest, but on other stated occasions,
corresponding to those which obtained
among ancient Israel, men will as-

CHAP. LXVI.]

ISATAH.

473

All flesh shall come to worship before me, saith Jehovah.
24 And they shall go forth, and shall see
The carcases of the men that have rebelled against me ;

For their worm shall not die,

Neither shall their fire be quenched :
But they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.

semble to celebrate its rites. 8},
before me, is not to be restricted to
Jerusalem, as it is absolutely impossi-
ble that all should be able to repair
thither, but is to be taken in the
latitude taught in Mal. i. 11; John
iv. 21—24. ;

24, The prophet concludes with a
warning to all to beware of transgres-
sion, which he derives from the mise-
rable condition of those that had
perished in the awful judgment pre-
dicted, verses 15, 16. The scene is
laid in the environs of Jerusalem,
most probably in the valley of Hin-

THE

nom, for which see on chap. xxx. 33.
Pxy, Dan. xii, 2, xy, from the Arab.

Yo, to repulse, reject, signifies an object

of abhorrence. The language here em-
ployed afterwards became proverbial
among the Jews, in application to the
punishment of the wicked. See
Judith xvi. 17 ; Eccles. vii.17. It is
likewise employed by our Lord to
express the intensity and eternity of
suffering in another world, to which
all shall be subject who prefer indul-
gence in sin to the fear and service of
God, Mark. ix. 44, 46, 48.

END.

LONDON:
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